John Dee - Forgotten Books

the suggestion to write this bo o k, and fo r valuable and

kind assistance in reading the final pro o fs, I am greatlyindebted to Pro fesso r Silvanus

I

P. Thompson, etc.

C. F. S.

LONDON , J uly , 1909.

TABLE OF CO NTENTS

CHAPTER I

BIRTH AND EDUCATION

Tercentenary of Dee’s death—No life of him—Persistentmisunderstanding Birth Parentage At Chelmsfo rdGrammar Schoo l—St. John ’

s Co llege , Cambridge—Fellow o f

Trinity—Theatrical enterprise—In the Low Countries—MA .

of Cambridge Louvain University Paris Readings in

Euclid— Co rrespondents abroad—Return to England.

CHAPTER II

IMPR ISONMENT AND AUTHORSHIP

Books dedicated to Edward VL—Upton Recto ry—J a ong

Leadenham—Bo oks dedicated to Duchess of No rthumberland—Ferrys info rms against his magic

—In prison—Handedover to Bonner—At Philpot

’s trial—Efforts to found a State

Library—Astro logy—Ho ro scopes—Cho ice of a day fo r QueenElizabeth’ s co ronation Introduced to her by DudleySympathetic magic

—Bachelo r of Divinity—In AntwerpMonas Hier oglyphicw

—Preface to Billingsley’s Euclid- Calleda conjurer .

CHAPTER III

MORTLAKE

Propo sedb enefices—Pr opaedew na taAphoristicw—Alchemical

secrets— Settled at Mortlake—J ourney to Lo rraine—Illn essThe Queen’s attentions Mines and hidden treasure

Wigm o re Castle—Marriage—Death of first wife—Literary

co rrespondence John Stow Diary commenced The

viii TABLE OF CONTENTS

Hexamer on Brytwrmicum—The Br itish Complemm t —Slanderand falseho od—A petty navy—The sea-power of AlbionFisheries and fo reign po licy.

CHAPTER lV

J ANE DEE

A comet o r blazing star— Second marriage—Jane From ond

—Hurried journey abroad—Berlin and Frankfo rt—Birth o f a

son— Christening—Edward Dyer— Due d ’Alencon—MichaelLo ck— H is sons—The Queen ’

s visit—Sir Humphrey Gilbertat Mo rtlake Adrian Gilbert John Davis The Queen ’

s

Title Royall Lo rd Treasurer Bur leigh Death o f Dee’s

m o ther—The Queen ’s visit o f condo lence— Map of Am erica

Visits to the MuscovyHouse —Frobisher and Hawkins—Birtho f a daughter—Accident to Arthur .

CHAPTER V

THE SEARCH FO R A MED I UM

Assistants—Roger Co ok—Magic and alchemy Psychicpowers— Crystal gazing— Dream s and mysteries —VincentMurphy and a lawsuit— Jean Bodin visits England—Quarrelbetween Leicester and Sussex—Mary Herbert- Sir Geo rgePeckham—The stage at Paris Garden — Mr . SecretaryWalsingham —The Queen at Greenwich—Barnabas Saul asmedium—Edward Talbo t—Sight in the stone—The table of

practice—The waxen seals .

CHAPTER VI

EDWARD KELLEY

Edward Kelley—An alias— H is previous histo ry— H is

mysterious powder— Marriage to Jo an Co oper—Jane Dee

’s

dislike o f Kelley—The diary of the actions— H ow Ashm o leobtained the MSS .

-Bo ok o f Mysteries—The four angelsDee

’s thirst fo r hidden knowledge—A crystal is brought

Medecina .

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER VII

THE CRYSTAL GAZ ERS

Kelley, the skryer—A third person—Adrian Gilbert

Kelley and an illuder —Dee employed to refo rm the

Calendar— The Queen and Ra leigh— Hidden treasure

Burleigh’s library—Dee ’

s precious bo oks—Kelley rebelliousThreatens to depart—Pacified by Adrian Gilbert—H is wife

’

s

letters— He go es to London—Becomes clairvoyant—SeesMary Queen of Sco ts executed.

CHAPTER VIII

MADIMI

Straits fo r lack of money—Count Albert Laski—Aspirationstoward the Po lish Crown King Stephan Batho ry Dee

introduced to him by Leicester- Laski at O xfo rd—At Mo rt

lake—Madimi—Galvah o r Finis— Laski’s guardian angelMadimi a linguist—Kelley threatens to leave—His salary o f

£50—Thomas Kelley—Dee’s suspicions—Kelley’

s tempers

H is love of money.

CHAPTER IX

A FORE IGN J OURNEY

Gifts from the Queen— Departure from Mo rtlake—Laskiand the who le party sail from Gravesend— Queenbo roughThe Brill Haarlem—Am sterdam—Harlingen—DokkumInstructions from Gabriel—Embden—O ldenberg—Bremen

—Il’s levity—Visions o f England—Hamburg—Lubeck.

CHAPTER X

PROMISES AND VISIONS

Promises of wealth Dee ’s doubts—His bo oks and librarydestroyed by the m ob—Ro sto ck—Stettin- Po sen CathedralSevere winter weather—The table set up

—Nalvage— SirHarry Sidney—Madimi—The Queen’s affection—At LaskCracow.

ix

PAGE

x TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER XI

CRACOW

Cracow—The new Style—Dee’s wo rk on the Refo rmation

o f the Calendar—Kelley’s discontent—Geographical lessons—Laski and King Stephan—Kesmark—Gabriel ’s pleading-Kelley repentant

—A vision of four castles- Ave—Dee’spatience.

CHAPTER XII

FROM CRACOW TO PRAGUE

Rowland ’s illness—Dee sets out fo r Prague—Thomas Kelley—D r . Hageck

’

s house— Rudo lph II . —Sim on’s study—Inter

view with the Empero r Kelley’s o utbursts Dr . JacobCurt ius—Dee

’

s natural histo ry—The Spanish Ambassado rJane Dee ill—A passpo rt granted—Back to Prague—Kelley

’s

doubts.

CHAPTER XIII

A DREAM OF GOLD .

To Limburg—Michael baptised in Prague CathedralEaster Poverty and distress Kelley again restiveParabo la de N obis Duobus -Return to Cracow—Mr .Tebaldo— Interviews with King Stephan—H is death—Dr . Ann ibaldus

-Back at Prague— Francisco Pucci—The Book of EnochCla 'ves Angelicce

—Banished by Papal edict—William Count

Ro senberg— Dee at Leipsic—Letter to Walsingham—A new

Nuncio—Invitation to Treb ona .

CHAPTER XIV

THE CASTLE OF TREBONA

Treb ona Castle—Ro senberg Viceroy o f Bo hemia—Invitation to Russia—Pro jection with Kelley’s powder—A gift to

Jane Dee—Letter from Kelley—Jane to her husband—JoanKelley—Dee’s friends desert him fo r Kelley—Arthur to b e

TABLE OF CONTENTS

the skryer—Kelley’s pretended vision—A hard and impure

doctrine— Dee ’s scruples overridden—A so lemn pact

Kelley disowns blame—End of his clairvoyance—The spirits’

diary closed.

CHAPTER XV

THE END OF THE PARTNERSHIP

Letters to Walsingham—A tuto r fo r the children—Co ldness and jealousy—Furnaces constructed—Rumours and

repo rts—Bo ok of Dunstan—Kelley’s haughtiness—Accident

to Michael—The great secret—Kelley steals the best wo rkman—Break-up of the Treb ona family—Dee’s letter to the

Queen on th e Armada—Gifts to Kelley—His departureCoaches and ho rses provided Dee quits BohemiaArrival in Bremen .

CHAPTER XVI

THE END OF KELLEY

Kelley in favour with Rudo lph—Given a title—Co rrespondswith Dee—Fabulous sto ries of go ld—Burleigh begs h is returnto England—A token to b e sent—A prescription fo r h is

gout—Letter to Kelley—Kelley’s fall from favour—Flight

from arrest—Capture at Sob islaus—lmprisonment—Writings

on alchemy—Letters to Dee—Attempted escape—Death.

CHAPTER XVII

RETURN TO ENGLAND

Dee’

s life in Bremen—Letter of safe conduct from the

Queen—Writes to Walsingham—Tim on Co ccius —HeinrichKhunrath—Departure fo r England—Dr . Pezel Events inEngland since Dee left—Arrival at Court—O ffers o f friends—Madinia bo rn—Scho o l fo r the children—Death o fWalsingham— Richard Cavendish—Ann Frank—The Queen at Richm ond—Christmas gifts .

xi

PAGE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER XVIII

A ROYAL COMM ISS ION

Lo ss of incom e—Hopes of a b enefice- The Court at

N onsuch—Mary Herbert—Arthur sent to Westm inster

Scho o l—H is dispo sition— Birth of Frances—Dr . WilliamAubrey— Defer red hopes—The commissioners

’ visit—Compendious R ehear sall—Dee’s half-hundred years—The blindedlady Fo rtune .

CHAPTER XIX

DEE ’S LIBRARY

The library at Mo rtlake— Bo oks and instrum ents—RichardChancello r ’s quadrant—A r adius Astr onomicus—Mer cato r

’s

globes—A watch-clo ck by Dibb ley—Boxes o f MSS .— Seals

and coats o f arm s— Reco rds fo r the Tower—Autograph wo rks— Reco rde ’

s Gr ow/lid of Ar ies—Catalogue of the bo oksClassic autho rs—English autho rs .

CHAPTER XX

ADIEU TO COURTS AND COURTING

The Queen ’s gift

—Anne Countess of Warwick—Christmas

at To o ting— Francis Nicho lls —Visito rs to Mo rtlake—The

Lo rd Keeper— Elizabeth Kyrton—Messengers from LaskiMr . Webb e Bartho lomew Hickman The Queen at

Greenwich—Advantages o f St. Cro ss—Archbishop VVhitgift—The who le fam ily to see the Queen Adieu to Courts and

Courting—Michael’s death—Chancello r of St. Paul’s—Jane ’s

supplication—A post at last—Manchester Co llege—Birth of

Margaret—Lo rd Derby—A m ove no rthward .

CHAPTER XXI

MANCHESTER

Co llegiate Church ofManchester—The Byrons o fClaytonCo tto n

’s servant—Titles of the co llege lands—Mr . Har ry

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Savile—Survey of the town—Christopher Saxton—A surprise

visit—Governess fo r the girls—Witchcraft in LancashireDee

’s library in request—Disputes among the Fellows

Perambulation of the bounds—Richard Ho oker—Markingboundaries—Ear l and Countess of Derby—College affairs

The Queen ’s sea sovereignty—Letter to Sir Edward Dyer

Humphrey Davenport -Sir Julius Caesar—Welcome gifts

Journey to London .

CHAPTER XXII

COLLEGE AFFAIRS

Absence from Manchester—A special commission— Returnto the no rth—Grammar Scho o l inspection—Dream s and

sleepless nights—Trouble with the Fellows— Unsatisfacto rycurates—Bo rrowing m oney o n plate—Crystal gazing again

Untrue visions—Return o f Roger Co ok— Co llege propertyin Cheshire—Arthur the chapter clerk—End of the Diary.

CHAPTER XXIII

LAST DAYS

Death of Theodo re—Arthur ’s marriage—H is ho ro scopeDeath o f the Queen—Jam es I . and his Demono logie

—Act

against witchcraft—Dee petitions Parliam ent and the Kingat Greenwich—Passionate pro test

—O ffers to b e burnedPleads fo r an Act against slander—Neglected and aloneDeath of Jane—The children ill—Dee in London—Katherineh is mainstay—Cruel delusions—A journey to go

—Failingmemo ry John Pontoys

—The vision fades—Death A

grave at Mo rtlake—Garrulous reminiscences.

APPENDICES I AND II

1. Dan’s DESCENDANTS

II. BIBLIOGRAPHY

xiii

PAGE

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIO NS

1 . PORTRAIT OF JOHN D EE .

2 .

From the o riginal (artist unknown ) in the Ashmo

lean Museum , O xfo rd . It is inscribed on the face

Johannes Dee Anglus Londinensis Act’l suae

The po rtrait w as acquired by Ashm o le from D r . Jo hnDee

’

s grandson Rowland, and w as left by him to

O xfo rd University with h is co llectio ns. It has been

PAGE

engraved by Scheneker and W. P. Sherlo ck Fronrispiece

TITLE-PAGE OF D EE’

s GENERAL AN D RAREMEMORIAL s PERTAINING TO THE PERFECTART OF NAVIGATION, PRINTED BY J OHNDAY, 1577 .

The m o tto Plura latent quam patent surr oundsthe title ; above, the Queen ’s arms , a ro se branchthrough a lo op at each end. Allego rical drawingin a square ; the date 1576 in Greek in the co rners.

The Queen seated at the helm o f a“capital,”

i.e. , first-class , ship ; arms o f England on the rudder ;three noblem en standing in the waist. On the

vessel’s side Jupiter and Europa. Signs o f famine

on sho re : a wheat ear upside down and a skull. A

Dutch ship is ancho red in the river ; four m o re lie at

its m outh ; so ldiers, a small boat, a man o ffering a

purse, and in the co rner a walled town . On the ro ckat the river ’s mouth stands Lady Oppo rtunity ; theangel Raphael overhead with flaming swo rd, and

shield bearing St. Geo rge’s Cross. The sun , m o on , and

ten stars ; rays o f glo ry pro ceeding from the nam e o f

Jehovah . (See Ames, TypographicalAntiquities, ed.

Herbert, vol. i. , p. 661) To face

xvi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

3 . P ICTURE OF AN ALCHEMIST WITH HIS ASSISTANT TEND ING STILLS .From an engraving by Robert Vaughan in Ashmo le’s

Theatrum Che'm/ieum Briton/um where it illustrates the first English translation o f Thom as N o rton 5

Ordiua ll of Alchemy, a metrical treatise in Latin ,

which Dee transcribed in the year 1577. H is copy,bound in purple velvet, and with the index made byhimself, is now Ashm o lean MS. 57 TO face

4. DIAGRAM OF THE VISION OF FOUR CASTLES .Seen and drawn by Kelley at Cracow. From

Casaub o n’s True Relation

5 . FACSIMILE PHOTOGRAPH OF DEE’

S LETTERTO Q UEEN ELIZ ABETH ON THE DEFEAT OF

THE SPANISH ARMADA.

From the o riginal in Har leian MS. 6986, fo . 45

6 . A PAGE FROM THE ALBUM OF TIMONCOCOIUS , BREMEN, 1589 .

Dee’s contribution to his Thesaurus

From the o riginal in Add. MSS.

7 . ILLUSTRATION To NORTON’

S ORDINALL .

Engraved by Vaughan in Ashm o le’s Theatrum.

(See above, NO . 3)

8 . DEE ’ S COAT OF ARMS .From an illustration to his Letter and Apology ,

presented to the Archbishop o f Canterbury 1599,

second edition 1603

Life o f D r . J o hn Dee

CHAPTER I

BIRTH AND EDUCATION

0 Incredulitie, the w it of fo o les

That slovenly will spit on all thinges faire,

The coward’s castle and the sluggard’

s cradle ,

How easy ’

tis to be an infidel—GEORGE CHAPMAN .

IT seems remarkable that three hundred year sshould have been allowed to elapse since the death OfJohn D ee in December , 1608 , without producing any

Life o f an individual so conspicuous, so debatable, andso remarkably picturesque.

There is perhaps no learned author in history w hohas been so persistently m isjudged, nay , evenslandered, by his posterity, and no t a voice in all the

three centuries uplifted even to claim fo r him a fairhearing . Surely it is time that the cause o f all thisuniversal condemnation should be examined in the

light o f reason and science ; and perhaps it will befound to exist mainly in the fact that he w as to o faradvanced in speculative thought fo r his ow n age to

understand. Fo r more than fifty years out o f the

eighty-o ne o fhis life, D ee w as famous, even if suspectedand looked askance at as clever beyond human inter

pretation . Then his Queen died. With the narrowJ .D . B

2 LIFE OF DR. J OHN DEE

minded Scotsman who succeeded her came a change inthe fashion of men ’s minds . The reign o f the devil andhis handmaidens— the w itches and possessed persons

-w as set up in order to be piously overthrown, and the

very bigotry o f the times gave birth to indepen

dent and rational thought—to Newton, Bacon, Locke.

But D ee w as already labelled once and fo r all.

Every succeeding wr iter w ho has touched upon hiscareer , has followed the leaders blindly, and has onlycast another , and yet another , stone to the heap of

obloquy piled upon his nam e. The fascination o f hispsychic projections has always led the critic to ignorehis more solid achievements in the realms of historyand science, while at the same time, these are onlycited to be loudly condemned . The learnedD r . Meric Casaubon , w ho , fifty years after Dee’sdeath, edited his B o ok of Myster ies—the absorbingrecital o f four out o f the six o r seven years of hiscrystal gazing—w as perhaps the fairest critic be yethas had. Although he calls Dee’s spiritual revelationsa sad record,

”and a work o f darkness,

”he con

fesses that he himself, and other learned and holymen

(including an archbishop), read it with avidity to theend, and were eager to see it printed. He felt certain,as he remarks in his preface, that men

’s curiositywould lead them to devour what seems to him not

parallelled in that kind, by any book that hath beenset out in any age to read. And yet on no accountw as he publishing it to satisfy curiosity, but only todo good and promote Religion .

”

Fo r D ee, he is persuaded, w as a true, sincere Christian,

his Relationmade in the most absolute good faith

, although

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hundred pages, gave fifty to letters already printedby Casaubon .

After this no sustained account of Dee’ s romantic

career is to be found outside the pages o f biographicaldictionar ies and magazine articles, o r among wr itersupon necromancy, hermetic philosophy, and alchemy.

Many o f these decorate their collections w ith apo cry

phal marvels culled from the well-worn traditionalstories Of D ee and his companion , Edw ard Kelley.

Thus , throughout his lifetime and since, he has con

tinned to run the gauntlet o f criticism. Old impo sturing juggler ,

” fanatic,” quack,

”are mild term s

in the Biog raphia B r itannica he is called extremelycredulous, extravagantly vain , and a m ost deludedenthusiast. Even thewriter on D ee in theDictionaryof N ational B iog raphy says his conferences with theangels are such a tissue o f blasphemy and absurditythat they might suggest insanity.

” Many more suchsummary

'

verdicts m ight be quoted, but these willsuffi ce fo r the present.It has been said that no Life of D ec exists . And

yet the materials fo r such a Life are so abundant thatonly a selection can be here used . His private diary,fo r instance, if properly edited, would supply muchsupplementary, useful, and interesting historicalinformation .

It is the Object o f this work to present the facts ofJohn Dee’s life as calm ly and impartially as possible,and to let them speak fo r themselves . In the courseo f w r iting it, many false assertions have disentangledthem selves from truth, many doubts have beenresolved, and a mass o f information sees the light

BIRTH AND EDUCATION 5

fo r the fir st time. The subject is o f course hedgedabout with innumerable difficulties but in spite ofthe temptations to stray into a hundred bypaths , anendeavour has been strictly made to do no more thanthrow a little dim light on the point where the pathsbreak o ff from the main road . If, at the end of thew ay , any who have persevered so far , feel they havefollowed a magnetic and interesting personality, thelabour expended will no t have been in vain . Witha word of apology to serious historical readers fo r theincorrigibly romantic tendency of much o f the narra

tive, which, in spite o f the stern sentinel of a literaryconscience, would continually reassert itself, the storyo f our astrologer ’s strange life may now begin .

John D ee w as the son o f Rowland D ee ; he w as

born in London, according to the horoscope of hisow n drawing , on July 13, 1527.

His mother w as Jane, daughter o fWilliam Wild.

Various Welsh writers have assigned to D ee a genea

logical descent o f the highest antiquity, and the

pedigr ee1 which he drew up fo r him self in later life

traces back his fam ily history from his grandfather ,Bedo D ee, to Roderick the Great, Pr ince of Wales .All authorities agree that Radnor w as the countyfrom whence the Dees sprang .

Rowland D ee, the father , held an appointment atCourt, as gentleman server to Henry VIII . , but w as

very indifferently treated by theKing . This may partlyacco unt fo r the persistence with which D ee exhibitedbefore Queen Elizabeth his claim s to preferm ent at herhands . To be in habitual attendance at Court in those

1 Co tton Char ter , xiv. I.


days, however , bred in men a great desire fo r place,and a courtier w as but a mendicant on a grand scale.

The boy, J ohn D ee, w as early bred in grammarlearning ,

”and w as inured to Latin from his tender

years . Perhaps he w as no t more than nine o r ten

when he w as sent to Chelm sford, to the chantryschool founded there seven years before the greatschool at Winchester came into existence. The

master w ho presided over Dee’s school hours in

Essex w as Peter W ilegh , whom the chantry commissioners in 1548 reported as a man o f good con

versation who had kept the school there fo r sixteenyears . D ee has always been claimed by the Grammar

School at Chelmsford as one o f their most famousalumni, whose extraordinary career with its halo o f

mystery and marvel they perhaps feel little qualifiedto explore. Dee’s testim ony that at Chelmsford hew as metely well furnished with understanding o f

the Latin tongue is an unconscious tribute to PeterWilegh

’

s teaching.

In November , 1542, D ee, being then fifteen yearsand four months o ld, left Chelmsford to enter at St.John

’

s College, Cambridge, where, as he tells us in hisautobiography, he soon became a most assiduousstudent. 1 In the years 1543, 1544, 1545 , I w as sovehemently bent to studie, that fo r those year s I didinviolably keep this order : only to sleep four houresevery night ; to allow to meate and dr ink (andsome refreshing after ) two houres every day ; and

o f the other eighteen honres all (except the tyme

1 Comp endious Rehearsall. The Entrance and Ground Plat o fmy First Studies . Chetham So ciety, vol. i. , p. 4.


of going to and being at divine service) w as Spentin my studies and learning.

” Early in 1546 he

graduated BA . from St. John’s College. At theclose of the same year , Trinity College w as foundedby Henry VIII . , and D ee w as selected one o f the

original Fellows . H e w as also appointed under

reader in Greek to Trinity College, the principalGreek reader being then Robert Pember . The

young Fellow created the first sensation o f hissensational career soon after this by arranging somemechanism fo r a students’ performance of the Eiprjm,

(Eirene Peace) of Ar istophanes, in which he

apparently acted as stage manager and carpenter .

Fo r this play he devised a clever m echanical andvery spectacular effect. Trygaeus, the Attic vinedresser , carrying a large basket of food fo r him self,and mounted on his gigantic beetle o r scarab (whichate only dung), w as seen ascending from his dwellingon the stage to enter the palace o f Zeus in the cloudsabove. O ne has o nly to think Of the scenic effectspresented by Faust and Mephistopheles at Mr . Tree’stheatre, fo r instance, to realise how crude and

ineffective these attempts must have been but thirtyo r forty year s before Shakespeare

’s plays were wr itten,

so unusual an exhibition w as enough to excite w ildrumours o f supernatural powers . W e hear no moreof theatrical performances , although several referencesin his after -life serve to show that his interest in theEnglish drama, about to be bo rn , lagged no t far

behind that o f his greater contemporaries . H e doesmention , however , a Christmas pastime in St. John ’sCollege, which seems to have been inspired by this


same dramatic spirit. Of details w e are totallyignorant ; he only relates that the custom o f electinga Chr istmas Magistrate w as varied at his suggestion by crown ing the cho sen

'

victim as Emperor . The

fir st imper ial president o f the Chr istmas revels inSt. John ’s College w as one Mr . Thomas Dunne, a.very goodly man o f person , stature and complexion,

and well learned also, evidently a presence fit fo r a

throne. D ee adds : They which yet live and werehearer s and beholders, they can testifie more than ismeete here to be written o f these my boyish attemptsand exploites scho lasticall.”

H e turned to sterner studies , and became a skilfulastronomer , taking thousands o f observations (verymany to the hour and minute) Of the heavenlyinfluences and operations actual in this elementall

portion o f the world.

” These he afterwards publishedin various Ephemerides.In May , 1547 , D ee made his first journey abroad, toconfer with learned men o f the Dutch Universitiesupon the science of mathematics, to which he hadalready begun to devote his serious attention. He

spent several months in the L ow Countries, formedclose friendships with Gerard Mercator , GemmaFrisius, Joannes Caspar Myricaeus, the OrientalistAn tonius Gogava, and other philosopher s o f worldw ide fame. Upon his return to Cambridge, hebrought with him tw o great globes o f Mercator ’smaking, and an astronomer

’

s arm illary ring and staff o fbrass, such as Frisius had newly devised and w as in

the habit o f using.

” These he afterwards gave to theFellows and students o f Trinity College ; he cites a


letter o f acknowledgment from John Christopherson

(afterwards Bishop of Chichester ), but upon searchbeing made fo r the o bjects recently, through the kindness Of the Master , it appear s they are no t now to befound. D ee returned to Cambridge in the year 1548to take his degree of M .A. , and soon after wentabroad.

“And never after that w as I any more studentin Cambridge.

” Before he left , he obtained under theseal o f the Vice-Chancellor and Convocation, April 14,1548 , a testimonial to his learning and good conduct,

1

which he proposed to take with him abroad. Manytimes did he prove it to be o f some value.

In Midsummer Term , 1548 , he entered as a studentat the University o f Louvain, which had been foundedmore than a hundred years before in this quaint OldBrabantian town of mediaeval ramparts and textileindustries . At Louvain , D ee continued his studiesfo r two years, and here he soon acquired a reputationfo r learning quite beyond his years . It has been presumed that he here graduated doctor , to account fo rthe title that has always been given him.

2 DoctorD ee

”certainly possesses an alliterative value no t to

be neglected . At Cambridge he w as only M .A.

Long after , when he had passed middle life, and

when his remarkable genius in every branch ofscience had carried him so far beyond the dull wit ofthe people who surrounded him that they could onlyexplain his manifestations by the o ld cry o f sorceryand magic,

”

D ee m ade a passionate appeal to theQueen , his constant patron and employer , to send tw o

1 Autobiogr . Tr acts ofDr . J ohn Dee. Chetham So ciety, vol. i. p. 82 .

2 By the courtesy of M. le Secrétaire de l’

Université Catho lique,at Louvain, I am info rmed no such degree appears


emissar ies of her ow n choosing to his house at Mortlake, and bid them examine everything they couldfind, that his character m ight be cleared from the

damaging charges laid again st him . H e prepared fo r

these two commissioner s, to whose visit w e shall revertin its proper place, an autobiographical document

o f the greatest value, which he calls The Compen

dions Rehearsal o f John D ee : his dutiful declaration

and pro ofe o f the course and race o f his studious life,fo r the space o f half an hundred years , now (by God

’

sfavour and help) fully spent .

” 1 It is from this narra

tive that the facts o f his early life are ascertainable.

Perhaps w e discern them through a faint mist Ofretrospective glorification fo r which the strange streako f vanity almost inseparable from attainments likeDee’s w as accountable. But there is every reason torely upon the accuracy Of the m athematician

’

s story.

Beyond the seas, far and nere, w as a good Opinionconceived o f my studies philosophical] and mathema

ticall.” People Of all ranks began to flock to see this

wonderful young man . H e gives the names o f thosewho came to Louvain , a few hour s ’ journey fromBrussels, where the brilliant court o f Charles V.

w as assembled, with evident pride. Italian and

Spanish nobles ; the dukes o f Mantua and MedinaCeli the Danish king’s mathematician , MathiasH acus ; and his physician, J oannes Capito ; Bo hem ianstudents, all arrived to put his reputation to the test.A distinguished Englishman , Sir William Picker ing,afterwards ambassador to France, came as his pupil,

1 The o riginal, partly burned, is in Co ttonMS , Vitell, C. vn . , ff. 1

14. Ashmo le ’

s copy w as printed by Hearne in J ohannis GlastoniensisCitron , Oxfo rd, 1726 and in Chetham So c. vol. i.

12 LIFE OF DR. JOHN DEE

A greater astonishment w as created, he says , than

even at his scarabaeus mounting up to the top o f

Trin ity Hall in Cambridge. The members o f the

Un iver sity in Parisat the tim e numbered over

students, who came from every part of the knownworld. H e made many friends among the professorsand graduates , friends of all estates and professions ,several of whose names he gives ; am ong them , the

learned wr iter s and theologians of the day, Orontius,Mizaldus, Petrus Montaureus, R anco netus (R an

connet), Fernelius, and Francis Silvius .The fruit of these years spent in Louvain and Paris

w as that D ee afterwards maintained throughout his lifea lively correspondence with professors and doctors inalmost every university of note upon the Continent.H e names especially his correspondents in the

un iver sities o f Orleans, Cologne, Heidelberg, Strasburg , Verona, Padua , Ferrara , Bologna, Urbino,Rome,and many others, whose letter s lay open fo r the

inspection o f the comm issioner s on that later visitalready alluded to.

An offer w as made him to become a King’s Readerin m athem atics in Paris Univer sity, with a stipend oftw o hundred French crowns yearly, but he had madeup his m ind to return to England, and nothing wouldtempt him to stay. H e received other proposals,prom ising enough. to enter the service o f M . Babeu,M . de Rohan , and M . de Monluc, w ho w as startingas special ambassador to the Great Turk

,but his

thoughts turned back to England, and thither , in15 5 1 , he bent his steps .

CHAPTER II

IMPR ISONMENT AND AUTHORSHIP

A man is but what he knoweth.—BACON .

IN December , 1551 , D ee obtained, through the

offices of Mr . (afterwards Sir ) John Cheke, an introduction to Secretary Cecil and to King Edward VI .

He had already wr itten fo r and dedicated to the youngKing two books (in manuscript) : D e usz

'

Globz'

Cw lestz'

s,

1550 , and D e nubium, solis, lunae, ac r eliquorum

planetarum, eta , 1551 . These perhaps had beensent to Cheke, the King

’s tutor , in the hope that theymight prove useful lesson books . The pleasing resultof the dedication w as the gift o f an annual royalpension o f a hundred crow ns. This allowance w as

afterwards exchanged fo r the rectory o f Upton-uponSevern , in Worcestershire, which D ee found an

extremely bad bargain .

From the Beacon Hill aboveWest Malvern Pr iory,the visitor may turn from in spection o f the ancientBritish camp o f Caractacus to admire the magnificentview ; and across the level fields where the Severnwinds, the tower o f Upton church will be seen risingin the middle distance. Further west, if the day beclear , the more imposing towers of Tewkesbury andGloucester may be discerned, while half a turn eastward will show Worcester Cathedral, no t far away.

D ee never lived in this beautiful place, although hew as presented to the living on May 19 , 1553. Even


when the rectory o f Long Leadenham , in Lincolnshire,

1w as added to Upton , the two together were

worth only about £80 a year . Next year he declinedan invitation to become Lecturer on MathematicalScience at Oxford, conveyed to him through Mr .

Doctor Sm ith (Richard, 1528 , the reformer ),o f Oriel College, and “Mr . du Bruarne,

”o f Christ

Church. H e w as occupied with literary work, and

in 1553 produced, among other things, a couple ofworks on The Cause of Flo ods and E bbs, and The

Philosophical and P olitical Occasions and N ames ofthe H eavenly Aster ismes, both wr itten at the requesto f Jane, Duchess o f Northumberland.

When Mary Tudor succeeded her young brotheras queen in 1553, D ee w as invited to calculate hernativity. H e began soo n after to open up a correspondence with the Princess Elizabeth, w ho w as thenliving at Woodstock, and he cast her horoscope also.Before long he w as arrested on the plea of an

informant named George Ferrys , w ho alleged thatone o f his children had been struck blind and anotherkilled by Dee’s m agic.

” 2 Ferrys also declaredthat D ee w as directing his enchantm ents against theQueen ’s life. Dee’s lodgings in London were searchedand sealed up, and he him self w as sent to prison.

H e w as exam ined before the Secretary o f State,1 Apparently he did sometim es visit Leadenham , fo r Lysons,

Env. Lond.,1796, gives an account o f a stone found near the

parsonage house there with the fo llowing inscription

M ISER ICORD IAS DOM IN I IN E TERNA CANTABO

0 J OANNES A DEE 0He suggests, as an explanation, that Dee escaped when the house,as a tradition reco rds, w as burned by lightning .

2 Cal. State Pap er s Dom ,1547- 1580 , p. 67.

IMPRISONMENT AND AUTHORSHIP 15

afterwards upon eighteen articles by the PrivyCouncil, and at last brought into the Star Chamberfo r trial. There he w as cleared of all suspicion of

treason, and liberated by an Order in Council. August29 , 1555 , but handed over to Bishop Bonner fo rexamination in matter s o f religion. Bonner w as

apparently equally satisfied. D ee w as certainlyenjoined by him, at John Philpot’s examination on

November 19 , 1555 , to put questions as a test of hisorthodoxy. He quoted St. Cyprian to Philpot, w horeplied : Master D ee, you are to o young in divinityto teach me in the matters o f my faith, though yoube more learned in other things .

” 1

Dee deserves well o f all writers and students fo rtime everlasting because o f his most praiseworthyefforts to found a State National Library of booksand manuscripts, with copies o f foreign treasureswherever they m ight be. On January 15 , 1556 , hepresented to Queen Mary a Supplication fo r the

recovery and preservation o f ancient writers and

monuments.”2 Within a few year s he had seen the

monasteries dissolved and the priceless collections ofthese houses lamentably dispersed, some burned and

others buried. He drew up a very remarkableaddress to the Queen dwelling on the calamity of

thus distributing the treasure o f all antiquity and

the everlasting seeds o f continual excellency withinthis your Grace’s realm .

”

Many precious jewels , heknows, have already utterly per ished, but in timeFoxe, Acts and Monuments, 1847 cd.

,vol. vu . , p. 638

, et pan im.

Dee’s name is suppressed after the first editions.

2 Autobiogr . Tracts, p . 46. A fragment of the o riginal, savedfrom fire, is in Cotton MS Vitell, C. vii. 310.


there may be saved and recovered the remnants of

a store o f theological and scientific wr itings whichare now being scattered up and dow n the kingdom,

some in unleam ed men ’s hands , some walled up o r

buried in the ground. D ee uses powerful argumentsto enforce his plea, choosing such as would makethe most direct appeal to both Queen and people.

She will build fo r herself a lasting name and monument they will be able all in common to enjoy Whatis now only the privilege o f a few scholars, and eventhese have to depend on the goodw ill o f privateow ners. H e proposes first that a commission shallbe appointed to inquire what valuable manuscriptsexist ; that those reported on shall be borrowed (ondemand), a fair copy made, and if the ow ner will notrelinquish it, the original be returned. Secondly, hepoints out that the commission should get to workat once, lest some owners, hearing o f it, should hideo r convey away their treasures, and so, he pithily adds,prove by a certain token that they are no t sincerelovers o f good learning because they will no t sharethem with others .” The expenses o f the comm issionand o f the copying, etc. , he proposed should be borneby the Lord Cardinal and the Synod o f the province ofCanterbury, w ho should also be charged to over see themanuscripts and books collected until a library apt

in all points is made ready fo r their reception .

Finally, D ee suggests that to him be committedthe procur ing o f copies o f many famous manuscriptvolumes to be found in the great libraries abroadthe Vatican Library at Rome, St . Mark’s at Venice,and in Bologna, Florence, Vienna, etc. H e offers to


set to work to obtain these, the expenses only oftranscription and carriage to England to be chargedto the State. As to printed books, they are to “ be

gotten in w onderfull abundance In this generousoffer of his life to be spent in transcribing crabbedmanuscripts, w e cannot see the restless genius of

John D ee long satisfied, but at any rate he provedhimself no t seeking fo r private gain.

Thus w as the germ of a great National Libraryfir st started by the Cambr idge mathematician , nearlyfifty years before Thomas Bodley opened his uniquecollection at Oxford, and close upon 200 year s beforethere w as founded in the capital the vast and indispensable book-mine know n to all scholars at homeand abroad as the Br itish Museum . The HistoricalManuscripts Comm ission , whose labours in cataloguingprivate collections o f archives are also foreshadowedin Dee’s supplication , only came into being with theappointment of Keepers o f the Public Records, byan Act signalising the first and second years of QueenVictoria’s reign.

It is needless to say that nothing came of Dee’svery disinterested proposition. So he becam e the

more industrious in collecting a library o f his own,

which soon consisted o f more than volumes,which were always at the disposal of the friends whocame often to see him .

They came. also fo r another reason.

Astrology w as a very essential part of astronomy inthe sixteenth century, and the belief in the controllingpower of the stars over human destinies is almost asold as man himself. The relative positions of theJ .D . C


planets in the firmament, their situations amongst the

constellations , at the hour o f a man’

s birth , were con

sidered by the ancients to be dominant factors and

influences throughout his Whole life. It is not toomuch to say that a belief in the truth o f horoscopescast by a skilled calculator still survives in ourWestern

civilisation as well as in the East. Medical science

to-day pays its due respect to astrology in the sign,

little altered from the astrological figure fo r Jupiter,w ith which all prescriptions are still headed.

D ee, as one o f the foremost mathematicians and

astronomers o f the time, and one employed by theQueen ,

became continually in request to calculate thenativity and cast a horoscope fo r men and women in

all ranks o f life. He has left many notes o f people’

births ; his ow n children’s are entered w ith the greatest

precision, fo r which a biographer has to thank him.

When Elizabeth mounted w ith firm steps thethrone that her unhappy sister had found so pre

car ious and uneasy a heritage, D ee w as very quicklysought fo r at Court. His fir st commission w as

entir ely suig ener is. H e w as commanded by RobertDudley to name an auspicious day fo r the coronation,

and his astrological calculations thereupon seem tohave impressed the Queen and all her courtiers.Whether o r no w e believe in the future auguries ofsuch a combination o f influences as presided over theselection of the 14th o f January, 1559 , fo r the day of

crowning Elizabeth in Westm inster Abbey, w e mustacknowledge that Dee

’s choice o f a date w as succeeded by benign and happy destinies.He w as then living in London . W e do no t know


nature o f the practical joke, and repaired, w ithMr . Secretary Wilson as a witness o f the whole pro

ceedings and a proof o f all good faith, to Richmond,where the Queen w as. The Queen sat in that part of

her private garden that sloped down to the r iver , nearthe steps of the royal landing—place at HamptonCourt ; the Ear l o f Leicester (as Dudley had now

become) w as in attendance, gorgeous and insolent asever ; the Lords o f the Privy Council had also beensummoned, when D ee and Mr . Secretary expoundedthe inner meaning o f this untoward circum stance, andsatisfied and allayed all their fears. Something aboutthe calm attributes o f this seasoned and travelledscholar seemed always to give moral support to theQueen and her household ; this is only the first ofmany occasions when he had to allay their superstitious fright. That she felt it essential to keep himwithin reach o f herself may have been o ne reason fo rno t giving him the appointments fo r which he, andothers fo r him, constantly sued. D ee w as no t an

easy person to fit into a living : he required one

with no cure o f souls attached ; fo r this, he says, a

cur a animar am annexa , did terrific me to deal withthem .

”H e is called a bachelor o f divinity by Foxe in

1555 , and as a matter o f fact he does , both in 1558 andin 1564, add the letters S . D. T . to his name in

his printed works.1 This degree also w as no t from

Cambridge. At last he grew tired o f waiting, and a

certain restlessness in his character , no t incompatiblewith the long patience o f the true follower o f science,

1 Pmpwdefwmata Aphoristica, 1558 . Address to the Printer in

Mona s Hier oglyphica, 1564.


drove him again abroad. His intention w as toarrange fo r printing works already prepared in manuscript. To search among out-o f-the—w ay bookmongers and book-lovers in high-walled German

tow ns, fo r rare treasures wherewith to enr ich hisnative country, w as another magnet that drew hisfeet. In February, 1563, after he had been thusemployed fo r m ore than a year , he wrote from the

sign o f the Golden Angel, in Antwerp, to Cecil , toask if he w as expected to return to England, o r if hemight remain to oversee the printing o f his books ,and continue his researches among Dutch books andscholars. H e had intended, he says , to return beforeEaster , but this w as now impossible, owing to

printer’s delays . When w e remember that a hundred

years had barely elapsed since the fir st metal typeshad been cast and used in a hand press, it is no twonderful that Dee

’s treatise, with its hieroglyphicand cabalistic signs, took long to print. H e

announces in the letter to C ecil a great bargain hehas picked up, a work, fo r which many a learnedman hath long sought and dayley yet doth seek,upon cipher w r iting, viz . Steganog raphia , by the

famous Abbot Trithemius of Wurzburg. It is theearliest elaborate treatise upon shorthand and cipher ,a subject in which Cecil w as particularly interested.

It w as then in manuscript (first printed, Frank fort,D ee continues that he knows his co rrespon

dent will be well acquainted with the nam e of thebook, fo r the author mentions it in his Epistles, andin both the editions o f his P olyg raphia . H e urges its

1 Printed by the Philob iblon So ciety, Hist. Mira , vo l. i. 1854.


claims upon the future Lord Treasurer , already a

statesman of r ipe experience, in the following wordA boke fo r your honor o r a Pr ince, so meet, so

nedefull and commodious, as in human knowledgenone can be meeter o r more beho vefull. Of thisboke, either as I now have yt , o r hereafter shall have

yt, fully Wholl and perfect, (yf it pleas you to acceptmy present) I give unto your Honor as the mostprecious juell that I have yet o f other mens travailesrecovered.

”

H e then goes o n to beg the minister and Secretaryo f State to procure fo r him that “ learned leisure

(dulcia illa ocia ) the fruit whereof my country and

all the republic o f letters shall justly ascribe to yourwisdom and honorable zeal toward the advancemento f good letters and wonderful, divine, and secretsciences . D ee had copied in ten days, by continuallabour , about half o f the book a Hungarian nobleman there has offered to finish the rest, if D ee

will remain in Antwerp and direct his studies fo r a

time.

Of this boke the one half (with contynual labourand watch, the most part o f 10 days) have I copyedoute. And now I stand at the curtesye o f a nobleman o f Hungary fo r writing furth the rest ; whohath prom ised me leave thereto, after he shall perceyve that I may remayne by him longer (with theleave o f my Prince) to pleasure him also with such

pointes of science as at my bandes he requireth.

I assure you the meanes that I used to cumpasthe knowledge where this man and other such are,

and likew ise of such book as this , as fo r this present Ihave advertisement of, have co st me all that ever I


could here w ith honesty borrow, besydes that which

(for so short a time intended) I thow ght needefull tobring w ith me, to the value o f xxlib . God knowethmy zeale to honest and true know ledg ; fo r which myflesh, blud, and bones should make the marchandize,if the case so required.

Dee did remain in the Low Countries ; be com

pleted his Monas H ier og lyphica , dated its prefatorydedication to the Emperor Maximilian II. , atAntwerp,January 29 , 1564, and added an address to the typographer , his singular good friend, Gulielmo Silvio,dated the following day . The book appeared inApril, and he at once journeyed to Presburg, topresent a copy to Maximilian . Its twenty-fourtheorems deal with the variations o f the figurerepresented on our title-page, which may be roughlyexplained as the moon , the sun , the elements (thecross), and fire as represented by the waving linebelow. D ee says that many universitie graduatesof high degree, and other gentlemen, dispraised itbecause they understood it no t,

” but Her Majestic

graciously defended my credit in my absence beyondthe seas. On his return in June she sent fo r him toCourt and desired him to read the book w ith her .

Dee’s account of his regal pupil is given with muchquaintness. She vouchsafed to account herself myschollar in my book and said whereas I hadprefixed in the forefront o f the book : Qui non

intelligit ant taceat, ant discat if I would disclose toher the secrets of that book she would ci discere et

facere. Whereupon herMajestic had a little perusionof the same with me, and then in most heroicall and


princely wise did comfort and encourage me in my

studies philosophical] and mathematicall.

”

His escort had been required fo r the Marchionesso f Northampton, w ho w as returning from Antwerpto Greenwich. In return fo r this assistance the ladybegged the Queen ’s favour fo r her cavalier . Elizabethw as always Dee’s very good fr iend, and she made a

grant to him on December 8 , 1564, of the Deaneryo f Gloucester , then void, but other counsels prevailed,and it w as soon bestowed upon some other man . Nodoubt the appointment would have given greatoffence, fo r the popular eye w as already beginningto see in D ee no highly equipped mathematician ,

geographer and astronomer , but a conjuror and

magician of doubtful reputation , in fact, in the currentjargon , one who had dealings w ith the devil. Whatthere had been at this time to excite these suspicionsbeyond the fact that D ee w as always ready to expounda comet o r an eclipse, to cast a horoscope, o r explainthat the Queen would no t immediately expire becausea w ax doll with a stiletto in its heart w as found undera tree, it is hard to say . But that these rumourswere extrem ely persistent is seen by the astrologer ’sdefence o f him self in the very fruitq prefacewhich he, as the first mathematician of the day , w as

asked to wr ite to Henry Billingsley’s1 first English

translation of Euclid’s E lements, 2 in February, 1570 .

1 Afterwards Sir Henry Billingsley, Sheriff and Lo rd Mayo r of

London (1596)2 There is a rare copy o f this fo lio , o f John Day’ s printing, in theKing

’s Library, British Museum , with a fine title-page, co vered w ith

a Blake-like drawing o f the Arts and Sciences . It is in the


This preface must be reckoned as one o f Dee’

s bestachievements, although, as he says, in w r iting it, he

w as so pinched with straightness o f time that hecould no t pen dow n the matter as he would. H e

points out that Euclid has already appeared in Italian ,

German ,High Dutch, French, Spanish and Portu

guese dress, and no w at last comes to England.

In spite o f its ex p ar te nature, a study of thispreface alone must convince any reader that theauthor w as no charlatan o r pretender, but a truedevotee o f learning, gifted w ith a far insight intohuman progress. H e covers in review every art andscience then known, and some until these our daies

greatly m issed (his comments on music and harmonyare truly remarkable), and comes back to his ow n

predilection—arithmetic, which next to theologie ismost divine, most pure, most ample and general],most profound, most subtele, most commodious andmost necessary. H e quotes Plato to show how “ itlifts the heart above the heavens by invisible lines,and by its immortal beams melteth the reflection o f

light incomprehensible, and so procureth joy and per

fection unspeakable.

” Speaking o f the refraction o f

light, he foreshadows the telescope as he describeshow the captain o f either foot o r horsemen shouldemploy an astronom ical stafl

’

e commodiously framedfo r carriage and use, and may wonderfully help himselfby perspective glasses ; in which I trust our posterityw ill prove more skilful] and expert and to greater

o riginal binding, with co rners mended, and has the fo llowinginteresting in scription on a flyleaf :

“ J ’

ai acheté cc livre a O xfo ren Juillet, 1598, et ma couste 16 shelins . Saint Sauveur .


purpose than in these days can almost be credited tobe possible.

” Then he alludes to a wonderful glassbelonging to Sir William P famous fo r his skill in

mathematics, who will let the glass be seen . The

passage seem s to show that looking-

glasses were notcommon, o r that this particular one w as a convexmirror .

A man, he says, may be curstly afraid o f hisow n shadow, yea, so much to feare, that you beingalone nere a certain glasse, and proffer w ith daggero r sword to foyne at the glasse, you shall suddenlybe moved to give back (in m

'

,ner ) by reason o f an

image appearing in the ayre betw eene you and the

glasse, with like hand, sword o r dagger , and with likequickness foyning at your very eye, like as you do atthe glasse. Strange this is to heare o f, but morem ervailous to behold than these my wordes can

signifie, nevertheless by demonstration opticall the

order and cause thereof is certified, even so the effectis consequent.”

This m ir ror w as given to D ee no t long afterwards.From optics he passes on to mechanics, and men

tions having seen at Pragu e mills worked by water,sawing great and long deale bordes, no man

being by. H e describes accurately a divingchamber supplied with air , and sums up some o f the

m echanical marvels o f the world -the brazen headmade by Albertus Magnus, which seemed to speak ;a strange self-moving

” which he saw at St. Denisin 155 1 ; images seen in the air by means o f a

perspective glass ; Archimedes’

sphere ; the dove o f

Archytas ; and the wheel o f Vulcan, spoken o f byAristotle ; and comes down to recent workmanship


you me thus violently with your slaundering o f me,

contrary to veritie, and contrary to your ow n con

science ? And I , to this b ow er , neither by worde,deede o r thought, have bene anyway hurtful], dam ageable, o r injur ious to you o r your s Have I SO long,so dearly, so farre, so carefully, so pamfully , sodangerously fought and travailed fo r the learningo f w isedom e and atteyning o f vertue, and in the

end am I become worse than when I began ? Worsethan a madman , a dangerous member in the Com

m onw ealth and no Member o f the Church o f Chr ist ?Call you this to be learned ? Call you this to be a

philosopher and a lover o f w isdome

He goes o n to speak o f examples before his timeto whom in godliness and learning he is not worthy tobe compared patient Socrates, Apuleius , JoannesPicus and Trithemius, Roger Bacon, the flower ofwhose worthy fame can never dye no r wither ,

”and

ends by summ ing up the people who can conceivenothing outside the compass of their capacity as offour sorts -

“ vain prattling busybodies, fond friends,imperfectly zealous, and malicious ignorant.” Ofthese he is inclined to think the fond fr iends the mostdamaging, fo r they overshoot the m ark and relatemarvels and wonderful feats which were never done,o r had any spark o f likelihood to be done, in orderthat other men may marvel at their hap to have sucha learned friend.

The eloquent irony o f this passage seems equalledonly by its extraordinary universality, its knowledgeo f human character and its high philosophic spirit.At what a cost did a seeker after scientific truthsfollow his calling in the sixteenth century I

CHAPTER III

MORTLAKE

In her princely countenance I never perceived frown towardme, o r discontented regard o r View o n me, but at all times favo rableand gracious, to the joy and comfo rt of myitrue, faithful and loyalheart.” —DEE

, o f Queen Elizabeth .

THE prom ised benefice did no t yet come, althoughDee’s friends at C ourt were all busy on his behalf.Either now o r later , he w as actually mentioned as

Provost o f Eton , and the Queen answered favourably. Mistress Blanche Parry and Mistress Sendamore, lady-in-waiting to Anne, Countess of Warwick,urged his claim s fo r the Mastership o f St. Cross atWinchester , which it w as thought D r . Watson wouldsoon vacate. But all he seems to have obtained w asa fresh dispensation from Matthew Parker , Archbishop o f Canterbury, to enjoy the tw o Midlandrectories fo r ten years .He continued his literary work, and beside writing

new manuscript treatises , bethought him self o f an o ld

one, which although printed had no t received greatattention . This w as the P r op cedenmata Aphor istica

(London , dedicated July 20 , 1558 , to his oldand dear friend and fellov

'

v-student at Louvain ,

Mercator , my Gerard, as he affectionately callshim. In January, 1568 , D ee presented a copy of anew edition, with an address to the studious and


sincere philosophical reader , dated December 24,

1567, from “our museum at Mortlake , to “ Mr .

Secretary Cecil , now Lord Treasurer . Two copieswere given at the sam e time to the Earl o f Pembroke,one fo r him to use o r give away at his pleasure, theother , by Cecil

’s advice, to be presented by him tothe Queen. Within three days , D ee heard fromPembroke that she had graciously accepted and wellliked his book. This gratifying information w as

rendered acceptable by a gift H e gave me verybountifully in his ow ne behalf xxlib . to requite suchmy reverent regard o f his honour .

”

An interview with the Queen followed on

February 1 6 , at 2 o’clock, when there w as talk between

them in the gallery at Westminster o f the greatsecret fo r my sake to be disclosed unto her Majestyby Nicolas Grudius, sometime one o f the secretariesto the Emperor Charles V. Of this alchemicalsecret, no doubt concerning transmutation, D ee w r itesafter , What w as the hinderance o f the perfectingo f that purpose, God best knoweth.

H e w as now over forty, and had a natural desireto range himself and house his library. Before 1570he took up his abode with his mother , in a housebelonging to her at Mortlake, on the r iver Thames.It w as an o ld rambling place, ll standing west o f thechurch between it and the river . D ee added to it bydegrees, purchasing small tenements adjoining, sothat at length it comprised laboratories fo r his experiments, libraries and rooms fo r a busy hive o f workers

1 In a survey taken 1616, eight years after Dee’

s death, it is

called an ancient house.

MORTLAKE 31

and servants . Mrs. D ee occupied a set o f rooms o f

her ow n . Nothing of the o ld premises now remains,unless it be an ancient gateway leading from the

garden towards the river . After Dee’s death thehouse passed through an interesting p hase of existence, being adapted by Sir Francis Crane fo r theRoyal tapestry works, where, encouraged by a

handsome grant o f money and orders from the

parsimonious James , suits o f hangings o f beautifulworkmanship were executed under the eye ofFrancis Cleyne, a limner ,

” who w as brought overfrom Flander s to undertake the designs . At theend of the eighteenth century, a large panelled roomwith red and white roses , carved and coloured, w as

still in existence. Ear ly in the nineteenth centurythe house w as used fo r a girls’ school, kept by a

Mrs. Dubois.Here D ee took up his abode. Its neam ess toLondon and to the favo urite places o f Elizabeth’ sresidence—Greenwich, Hampton Court , Sion House,Isleworth. and Nonsuch— w as at first considered a

great advantage, and the journey to and from Londonw as almost invariably made by water . The Queendesired her astrologer to be near at hand. When hefell dangerously ill at Mortlake in 1571 , after a

tedious journey abroad into the Duchy o f Lorraineon some mysterious errand, Elizabeth sent dow n twoo f her ow n physicians , Doctors Atslow e and Baltho rp,to attend him. Lady Sidney w as also despatchedwith kind, and gracious, and pithy ”

messages fromthe sovereign, and delicacies, divers rareties, weresupplied from the royal table to supplement his


mother ’s provision fo r the invalid. The Queen seem sto have felt a special obligation to look after him , as

she h ad sent him on some m issio n o f her o w n , which

probably w e shall no t be far wrong in thinkingconnected with Dee’s alchemistic exper iments . EveryCourt in Europe at this time had astrologer s and

alchem ists in its employ, and the Queen and

Bur leigh were as anxious as D ee that he should reallyattain the ever-elusive secret o f transmutation . D ee

had o f cour se carried the Queen’s passport fo rhim self and a couple o f servants, with horses, and

had obtained perm its through foreign ambassadorsin London to travel freely through various countries. ’

D ee w as now bent on rather a strange form ofpublic service. O n October 3, 1574, he wrote a veryremarkable letter 2 to Lord Burleigh of four and a

half folio pages in that best printed hand o f his whichoffers no excuse fo r skipping. His ow n paramountdeserts are very naturally one of the main subjects.H e has spent all his money and all his life in attainingknowledge. Certes, by due conference with all thatever I yet met w ith in Europe, the poor EnglishBryttaine (Il favor ita di vostra Excellentia) hathcarr ied the Bell away. God Almighty have the

glory. If he had only a sufficiency o f tw o o r threehundred pounds a year , he could pursue science withease. Failing that, there is another w ay . Treasuretrouvé is a very casual thing, and the Queen is little

Comp end ious Rehear sal. Chetham So c., pp. 1 1, 12 .

2 LansdowneMS . , xix., fo . 8 1 , in part printed in Strype’s Annals,3rd ed. 1735 , vo l. ii. , App., p. 8 1 and Ellis ’s Letter s of Eminent Lit.Men, Camden Soc., p. 32 .

MORTLAKE 33

enriched thereby, in spite of her royal prerogative.

N0 one knows this better than the Lord Treasurer .

Now , if her Majesty will grant him , by LettersPatent under her hand and seal, the r ight for life toall treasure he can find, he promises to give Burleighone half, and of course to render to the Queen and

Commonwealth the proportion that is theirs. It isnot the gold, as wealth, that appeals to this man o f

books and stars

The value of a mine is matter fo r King’s Treasure,

but a pott of tw o o r three hundred pounds bid in theground, wall, o r tree, is but the price o f a good book,o r instrument fo r perspective astronomy, o r some featof importance.

He has spent twenty years in considering the

subject people from all parts have consulted himabout dreams, Visions , attractions and demonstrations o f symp athia ci antip athia r erum but it is no tlikely he would counsel them to proceed without permission from the State. Yet what a loss is here i

Obscure persons, as hosier s o r tanners, can, undercolor o f seeking assays o f metalls fo r the Saymaster ,

enjoy libertie to dig after dreamish demonstrations ofplaces. May no t I then , in respect of my payn s, cost,and credit in matters philosophical and mathematical],if no better o r easier turn will fall to my Lot from herMajestie’s hands , may no t I then be thought to meanand intend good service toward the Queen and thisrealm, yf 1 will do the best I can at my ow n cost andcharge to discover and deliver true pro ofe o f a myne,vayu, o r o re of gold o r silver , in some place o f her

Grace’s kingdom, fo r her Grace’s only use 7”


The Society o f R oyal Mines had been incorporatedMay 28 , 156 5 , and the Queen had granted patents toGermans and others to dig fo r mines and ores . Itw as well know n that the country abounded in hiddentreasure. The valuables of the monaster ies had been,

in many cases, hastily bur ied before the last abbotw as ejected at the dissolution . The subject had a

special fascination fo r D ee, who w as conscious o f adivining rod power to discover the hiding places.He made a -urious diagram of ten localities , in variouscounties, marked by crosses , near which he believedtreasure to lie concealed. He ends his letter toBurleigh w ith a more practical and much m ore con

genial request. H e has been lately at WigmoreCastle, and has seen a quantity of parchments andpapers from which he has copied accounts, obligations,acquittances . Will the Treasurer give him a letter toMr . Harley, keeper o f the records there, asking perm ission to exam ine themand report as to the contents ?

My fantasy is I can get from them , at my leisure,matter fo r chronicle o r pedigree, by w ay of recreation .

” So he ends w ith an apology fo r his long letterand is your Lordship

’s most bow nden John D ee.

”

Nothing seems to have resulted from this letter atthe time ; later he did receive a grant of royalties froma mine.

In 1575 D ee married . H e seem s to have had no

time fo r such an event before. H e w as now in hisforty-eighth year , and did no t execute the fatal folly

(which, in his Court life, he had seen many timesexemplified) o f comm itting the indiscretion first andinform ing the Queen after . H e duly laid before her


from Dee to his “ loving friend, Stow, the historian.

Contrary to Dee’s careful practice, it is undated, savefo r day and month, this 5th o f December . H e has

evidently been the m eans o f introducing a fellowauthor in influential quarters, fo r he says, My friend,Mr . Dyer , did deliver your books to the tw o Earls,who took them thankfully, but, as he noted, there w asno reward commanded o f them . What shall be hereafter , God knoweth. So could no t I have done.

Then he adjures Stow to “ hope as well as I,” I

and

turns from consider ing fruits to the sources o f theirtoil . H e sends a list o f the var ious ports, includingthe Cinque Ports, that have a mayor o r bailey, all

except Gravesend, which has a portreeve. Stow may

get fuller information, the very true plat,” from

Lord Co bham ’

s secretary. He returns a manuscripto f Asser ’s Saxon Chr onicle “ it is no t of the best and

perfectest copy. I had done with it in an hour . Ifyou have Flor iacensis W

'

ig ornensis [the Chronicle ofFlorence o f Worcester] I would gladly see him a

little.

Stow, like D ee, w as a Londoner and, within a yearo r two, o f the sam e age. H e had alr eady publishedhis Annals of E ng land, which had then gone throughfour editions .D ee no w began to keep a diary o f his doings,wr itten in the pages and margin s o f three fat quartoalmanacs, bound in sheepskin and clasped.

Quotations have perhaps already shown that his style, hisspelling, his use o f words, is that w e expect from a

1 Stow’s labours met with small reward in spite o f being granted

permission byLetters Patent to co llect vo luntary gratuities .

MORTLAKE 37

man of his wide culture and reading. He w as of the

new learning, though before Shakespeare and Bacon.

He had also two o r more distinct handwritings, a

roman hand with neat printed letters, and a scribblinghand. In the form er all his manuscript works andhis letters are written ; his diary is in the last. Thisdiary w as quite unnoticed until about 1835 , when thealmanacs were discovered at Oxford in theAshmoleanLibrary, having been acquired by Elias Ashmole, a

devout believer in hermetic phflo soPhy and collector

of all alchemical w ritings . They were transcribed

(very inaccurately) by J. O . Halliwell and printed bythe Camden Society inThe books contain a strange medley o f borrowings

and lendings, births and deaths, illnesses, lawsuits,dreams and bickerings ; observations of stars, eclipsesand comets, above all of the weather (fo r D ee w as a

great meteorologist) , o f horoscopes, experiments inalchemy and topographical notes. Here are some ofthe earliest entries

“ 1577. J an. 16 . The Earl of Leicester , Mr . PhilipSidney, and Mr . Dyer , etc. , came to my house. Thisw as Edward Dyer , Sidney

’s friend, afterwards to bedramatically associated w ith D ee and Kelley in theirreputed discovery o f the secret of making gold.

Feb . 19th. great w ynde S.W . , close, clow dy.

March 11 . My fall upon my right knucklebone

For the present vo lume the diary has been carefully co llatedwith the o riginals no w in the Bodleian Library. A number of

entries omitted by Halliwell appear fo r the first time. Manynames of celebrities o f the time are quite unrecognisable in the

printed version.


about 9 o’clock. Wyth oyle o f Hypericon in 24 hourseased above all hope. God be thanked fo r such hisgoodness to his creatures ! March 12 . Abrahamus

Ortelius me invisit Mo rtlakii This interesting visitfrom the great Dutch map

-maker is entirely omittedin the printed diary. May 20 . I hyred the barbero f Chysw ick , Walter Hooper , to kepe my hedges andknots in as good order as he seed them then , and thatto be done with tw ise cutting in the year , at the least,and he to have yearlly five shillings and meat anddrink .

”

Then he speaks o f a visitor , Alexander Simon, whocomes from Per sia, and has promised his service

”on

his return , probably to assist with information on

Eastern lore and wisdom . His fr iend and neighbour ,William Herbert, sends him notes upon his alreadypublished M onas. Another work is ready for

press , and he is constrained to raise money, whetherfo r the printing o r other expenses. In June beborrowed £40 from one, £20 from another , and £27upon the chayn o f gold O n August 19 , hisnew book is put to printing (one hundred copies) atJohn Day’s press in Aldersgate.

This w as another o f those works, so pithy and soalive in their remarkable application to the future,which have fallen with their author into undeservedneglect . D ee had made suggestions about supplying officers o f the army with perspective glasses aspart o f their equipment. N o w his friendship withthe Gilberts, Davis, Hawkins, Frobisher , and othersof the great sea-captains, drew his attention to thesister service and the sea power of this blessed isle of

TITLE -PAGE OF “ GEN ERAL AN D RARE MEMOR IALS.

(See ? 39 )

MORTLAKE 39

Albion. He had spent most o f the previous year

(1576 ) in wr iting a series o f volumes to be entitledGeneral and Rare Memorials pertayning to the

perfect art o f Navigation .

”The fir st volume, The

British Monarchy , o r H ewamer on B rytannicum, w as

finished in August. It w as dedicated to ChristopherHatton in some verses beginning

If privat wealth b e leef and deereTo any Wight on British soy],Ought public weale have any peere ?

To that is due all wealth an d toyle.

Whereof such lore as I of lateHave lem ’

d, and fo r security,By godly means to Garde this state,To you I now send carefully.

”

The intention is better than the lines. D ee w as

no poet, and even a bad versifier , but he wouldnot have been a true Elizabethan had he no t on

special occasions dropped into rhyme, like the rest ofhis peers.The second volume, The B ritish Comp lement,larger in bulk than the English Bible, w as w r ittenin the next four months and fin ished in December .

It w as never published its author tells us itwould cost many hundreds o f pounds to print,because of the tables and figur es requisite, and he

must first have a comfortable and sufficient oppo rtunity o r supply thereto .

”The necessary funds were

never forthcoming, and the book remained in manuscript. A considerable part of it is devoted to an

exposition of the parado xall compass which itsauthor had invented in 1557.


The third volume w as mysterious ; it w as to be

utterly suppressed o r delivered to Vulcan hiscustody.

”

The fourth w as Famous and R ich 1) is

cover ies, a book, he thinks, fo r British Honour and

Wealth, o f as great godly pleasure as worldly profitand delight. It w as a work of great historicalresearch which never saw the light.The prejudice against D ee w as so strong, and he

w as so much m isunderstood, some persons openlyattributing his works to other wr iters , others accusinghim of selfishly keeping all his knowledge to him self,many perverting his meaning through ignorance, andagain one, a Dutch philosopher , publishing a treatisewhich w as in substance a repetition o f his, that bedeterm ined to withhold his name from the publication . The anonym ity is no t, however , very wellmaintained, fo r D ee used the flimsy device of a

preface to the reader by an unknown friend, in

which all the griefs and ill usages o f that harmless and courteous gentleman,

” that extraordinarystudious gentleman ,

”the author , are freely aired.

Under the thin disguise, Dee’s high opinion o f his

own merits peeps , nay stares, out. Slanders havebeen spread against him , a damaging letter counterfeited by Vincent Murphy, his name and fameinjured ; he has been called “ the arch-conjurer o f

the whole kingdom.

” Oh, a damnable sklander ,he bursts out, utterly untrue in the whole and in

every worde and part thereof, as before the Kingo f Kings will appear at the dreadful day .

” It isno conceit on Dee’s part, with his European reputation, to say that he

“had at God his most merciful]


hundreds o f lusty handsome men will this w ay bewell occupied and have needful maintenance, whichnow are idle o r want sustenance, o r both.

”

Theseskilful sea-soldyers w ill b e more traynable to martial]exploits, more quick-eyed and nimble [he quotesPericles fo r this], than the landsmen. The PettyNavy Ro yall, as apart from the Grand Navy Royall,will look after pirates, will protect our valuablefisheries, l and generally serve us in better stead thanfour such forts as Callys o r Bulleyn. Coming tothe financial side, he asserts that every natural bornsubject o f this British Empire will willingly contribute towards this perpetual] benevolence fo r seasecurity ”

the hundredth penny of his rents and

revenues, the five hundredth penny o f his goodsvaluation, fo r the first seven years, and fo r the secondseven the hundred and fiftieth penny and the sevenhundred and fiftieth penny o f goods valuation, the

same, after fourteen years, to be commuted fo r everto half the original contribution. H e calculated thistax would amount to o r over . If that isnot sufficient, he would exact a second tax (exempting all such coun ties, towns, and the five ports, as

have Letters Patent fo r such immunity) o f the six

1 He says the Flemish herring fishery is worth a

year, but is conducted almo st entirely on our coasts, and w e haveto buy our own comm o dity o f strangers . He cites the success of

the Yarmouth herring fishery, founded only thirty-six years before,and gives details of the numbers o f the fo reign fishing fleets,Spanish, French, Flemish, and Dutch. Whether as a result of

Dee’s book or no , an Act w as passed by Jam es I., in 1609, a yearafter Dee’s death, requiring foreign fishing vessels to obtain a

licence to ply on our coasts.

MORTLAKE 43

hundredth penny o f every one’s goods and revenues.He would have twenty victualling ports, in everypart o f the kingdom , the incredible abuses of

purveyors duly reform ed. H e would have a st0pput to carrying our gunpowder and saltpetre out o fthe realm. Good God, he cr ies, w ho knowethnot what proviso is made and kept in other CommonWeales against armour carrying out o f their Limits ?

”

He speaks ofmany hundred pieces o f ordnance latelycarried out of the kingdom , so that w e must makenew ; and deplores the wholesale destruction of our

forests and timber (which is needed fo r ships) tokeep the iron works going. Then he foreshadowsthe Trinity House by asking fo r a Grand Pilotgeneral] o f England. H e outlines a scheme ofnavy pensions, and in relation to the fisheries quotessanitary statutes o f Richard II . He devotes a

chapter to the history of that peaceable and provident Saxon, King Edgar , his yearly pastime of

sailing round this island in summer , guarded by hisfleet of sail, and speaks o f the efficiency o f

Edgar ’s navy and the maintenance of his forts uponthe coast.1 Then he passes to his final argument.We must attain this incredible political mysterythe supremacy of our sea power . We must beLords of the Seas in order that our wits and

travayles may be employed at home fo r the eu

riching o f the kingdom, that “ our commodities (withdue store reserve) may be carried abroad,

”and that

peace and justice may reign .

“For we must keep1 Hakluyt incorpo rated the who le of this in his Principal

Navigations with due acknowledgment to Dee.


our own hands and hear ts fr om doing or intending

injw y to anyforeigner on sea or land.

”

Enough has been said o f this book, perhaps, to showthat it is a remarkable contribution towards thehistory o fthe navy and the fishing industries o fBritain.

l

It may be contended that if w ithin twelve yearsEngland could offer a crushing defeat to the greatestsea power o f the world, and establish herself mistressof the seas, she w as no t in need o f theoretical advicefrom a landsman o n the subject, but at any rateDee’s treatise voices the ideals o f the times, the hopesthat inspired all true lover s o f their country and

o f their Queen in the sixteenth century. In the

thunders of the Armada they were to be realised.

1 Dee sent it to his cousin William Aubrey,at Kew ,

fo r criticism.

Aubrey returned it with a quaint letter dated June 28 (i 1576)(Lives, ed. Clark, i. 6 1 I have herewith returned you my youngco sen the bo o k—Dee

’s o ffspring] in a bagge.

” He is rathersceptical about the w illingness o f Englishmen to contribute to thetax. He wants to kn ow ho w tho se whelps of yours —thesailors—are to b e o ccupied, fo r they will never be idle, and if youdon’t find them employment they will find what is not to be

desired.

” He praises the metho d, o rder, perspicuity, and elocutionof the bo ok, which he did no t believe our tongue, I mean the

Englishe, to ,be capable of. See, how b oldie,

” he adds, “uponone soddeyne readinge, I poure my Opinion to your bosome.

”

CHAPTER IV

J ANE DEE

Content I live, this is my stay,I seek no m o re than may suffice ;

I press to bear no haughty sway,Lo ok, what I lack my mind supplies

Lo 1 thus I triumph like a king,Content with that my mind doth bring.

—Sm EDWARD DYER.

THAT October the Queen and the whole Courtwere thrown into a perturbed state o f mind by a

strange appearance in the heavens. This w as the

comet which the Swedish astronomer , Kepler ,declared to predict the appearance in the north o f

Europe o f a pr ince who should lay waste all

Germany, and should vanish in 1632 . It w as luckyfo r his prognostications that Gustavus Adolphus w as

really born in Finland, did embroil Central Europein the Thirty Years ’ War , and did die in 1632 .

What the blazing star ,”as they called it, fore

boded, no one at Court could tell ; D ee w as sum

moned forthwith to expound the phenomenon . H er

Majestic took great pleasure to hear my opinion , fo r

the judgment o f some had unduly bred great fearand doubt in many o f the Court, being men of nosmall account. Fo r three diverse dayes she did usem e.

’ D ec did not forget to urge his suit to the

Queen, no t so much this time fo r preferment but fo rprotection .


Her Majestic romised unto me great secur ityher

Ekingdom that would by reason of

any my rare studies and philosophical exer cises undulyseek my overthr ow. Whereupon I again to herMajcstie made a very faithful and inviolable promiseof great importance. The fir st part whereof, God ismy witness I have truely and sincerely performed ;tho

’ it be no t yet evident, how truely , o r o f whatincredible value. The second part, by Go d his greatmercies and helps, may in due time be performed, ifmy plat fo r the meanes be no t misused o r defaced.

”

Nearly tw o years passed before D ee married hissecond wife, Jane Fromond, o f East Cheam,

Surrey.

She w as a lady-in-waiting at the Court to LadyHoward o f Eflingham , wife of the Lord Admiral

(Charles Howard) w ho w as afterwards in commando f the fleet victorious against the “ invincibleSpanish Armada. Lady Howard proved a true friendboth to Jane and her elderly but learned husbandthroughout the rest o f her life.

He paid a long visit to the Court at Windsor a

couple of months before the marr iage, staying therefrom November 22 to December 1 , 1577, and recordsinterviews with the Queen on various days, and withMr . Secretary Walsingham . It may be presumedthat the marriage w as then arranged, fo r without theQueen’s consent it could never have taken place.

Just before leaving, he had a conversation with SirChristopher Hatton, the newly-made knight o f thatday (DecemberThe marr iage took place on February 5

, 1578, at

one o ’clock, as the bridegroom tells in his diary, butat what church he omits to say. Perhaps it took

JANE DEE 47

place in a Royal Chapel at Court. The young bridew as twenty-two. She w as a clever , well-bornwoman,

hasty and quick-tempered, but o f a steadfast and

thorough faithfulness . it w as no easy task to be thewife of a brilliant and erudite mathematician nearlythirty years her senior , but to the end of her daysJane proved herself a true and fitting helpmate, a

most careful and devoted mother to her eightchildren. Little could she have foreseen at thisbridal hour into what strange paths the coming yearswould lead her . Dee’s devotion to his Janc, his

grow ing respect fo r her force o f character , is faithfully reflected in his diary, where every detail o f herdoings and her health is studiously entered.

Before the and o f the year , he had to leave homeand undertake a sudden journey abroad at the com

mand of the Queen ’ s ministers . Elizabeth, in spiteof an iron constitution, w as ill and distracted withtoothache and rheumatic pains . She had come toRichmond from Greenwich on September 25 , and

the next day the fine weather broke up. The firstrayn that came fo r many a day,

” says D ee,“all

pasture about us w as w ithered . Rayn in afternone

like Apr ile show res.

” A week o r tw o after this hew as summoned to Hampton Court, and had a con

ference o f tw o hours‘

with the Queen , from nine toeleven in the morning. D r . Bayly, the Queen ’sphysician , came to Mortlake on October 16 to co nsultwith him , fo r his profound hermetic studies gave himall the prestige o f a super-doctor . O n the 22nd Jane

(D ee still writes o f her as Jane Fromonds, pro

bably to distinguish her from his mother , Jane D ee)


went to Hampton Court. She found the Queen no

better , in fact a worse fit o f pain than ever occurredon the 25th, lasting from nine in the evening tillafter midnight. O n the 28th , Leicester and Walsingham decided to send D ee abroad to consult with someforeign physician about the malady. H e w as givenhis in structions at nine o’clock on November 4th on

the 7th he reached Gravesend, and sailed from Lee

on the 9th . By three o’clock on the 14th, he w as in'

Hamburg ; in Berlin on December 6 and on the 11th

at Frankfort-upon-Oder . The entry on the 15th,newes o f Turnifer ’s comming , 8 o

’ clock, by a speciall

messenger , looks as if the object of his journey w as

attained. There are no more details of the business.The diary is resumed in March, 1579 , with sometrivial entries about his showingMr .John Lewis and hisson , the physician , how to draw aromatical oils, and a

note o f his cat getting a young fledgling sparrow thathad never had but one— the right

w vving , naturally.

Dee ’s mother surrendered to him on June 15 , 1579 ,the house and lands at Mortlake, w ith reversion tohis wife Jane, and to his heirs and assigns after him,

fo r ever . The document w as delivered to him by asurveyor from Wimbledon (in which parish Mortlakew as included) under the tree by the church . The fine

fo r the surrender— twenty shillings- w as paid to theQueen , as Lady of the Manor , on October 31 .

A month later , on his fifty-second birthday, July 13,1579 , Dee

’s eldest son, Arthur , w as born . The eventw as coincident with another , fo r that same night, atten o ’clock, Jane

’ s father , Mr . From ond (D ee alwaysadds an s to the name), w as seized with a fit an d


Pupils now began to resort to D ee.

“John Elmeston,

student o f Oxford , cam to me fo r dialling.

”

Mr .

Lock brought Benjamin his so nne to m e his eldestsonne also, called Zachar ie, cam then with him .

” Thisw as Michael Lock, the traveller . Zachary w as the

eldest of Lock ’s fifteen children ; Benjamin afterwardswrote on alchemy—A Picklock for R ipley

’

s Castle.

It w as a stormy October , o f continuous rains andfloods fo r three o r four days and nights, and a ragingw ynde at west and southerly.

” Six persons weredrowned in the Kew ferry boat, by reason o f the

vehement and high waters overwhelm ing the boatuppon the roap, by the negligens o f the ferryman set

there to help.

”Mrs . D ee had a strange dream that

one cam to her and touched her , saying, MistressD ee, you are conceived o f child, whose name must beZacharias ; be o f good chere, he sal do well, as thisdoth.

’ This, meaning Arthur , had a sharp illnesssoon after , however , and when the next child arrived,in tw o years ’ time, it chanced to be a girl, who w a

named Katherine. So the dream went by contrariesafter all. Ar thur w as weaned in August, and hisnurse discharged, with her wages , ten shillings, fo r thequarter ending at Michaelmas, paid in full. D ee isan exact accountant as well as diarist, and entersevery payment with precise care .

The Queen came riding down from Richmond inher coach, to see what her astrologer w as doing, onSeptember 17, 1580 , and put the household in a

flutter . She took

The higher w ay o f Mortlake field, and when she

cam e r ight against the church, she turned down

JANE DEE 5 1

toward my house. And when she w as against mygarden in the field, her Majestic stayed there a goodwhile, and then came into the field at the great gateof the field, where her Majestic espied me at my door ,making reverent and dutiful o beysance unto her ;and with her hand, her Majestic beckoned fo r m e tocome to her , and I came to her coach side ; herMajesty then very speedily pulled o ff her glove and

gave me her hand to kiss ; and to be short, herMajestic willed m e to resort oftener to her Court,and by some o f her Privy Chamber to give her toweete when I am there.

One can picture the gorgeously dressed and pearlbedecked Queen , her auburn hair glistening in the sun ,

beckoning majestically to her astrologer , bidding himattend and swell her troops of courtiers and adm irers,demanding imperiously to be let know when he cam e,

and to be kept informed of all he did. D ee w as a

handsome man , tall and slender ; he wore a beard ,pointed and rather long . Among the crowd o f

personable courtiers in their r ich and most becom ingsuits, he would be no inconspicuous figure .

It w as perhaps the publication o f the first volume

of the General and Rare Memorials pertayning tothe art o f perfect Navigation that brought D ec intointimate relations with the navigator s o f the time.

O r it may have been his intimacy with them thatsuggested the work. The H examer on appeared inSeptember , 1577, and in November the diarist firstrecords a visit from one of them Sir UmfreyGilbert cam to me at Mortlake Gilbert w as thenliving at Limehouse, engaged in writing discourses o nnaval strategy and discovery. A few months later ,

E 2


Dee mentions a suggestion he gave to RichardHakluyt, the author of the fascinating histories o f thevoyages : I told Mr . Daniel Rogers, Mr . Hakluytof the Middle Temple being by, that Kyng Arthurand King Maty, both o f them , did conquer Gelindia,

lately calledFriseland, which he so noted presently inhis written copy o f Mo numethensis, fo r he had no

printed book thereof. ”1 O n August 5 , one of

Gilbert’ s company, Mr . Reynolds o f Bridewell, tokhis leave o f me as he passed toward Dartmouth to gowith Sir Umfrey Gilbert toward Hochelaga.

” 2 The

expedition sailed from Dartmouth o n September 23,Sir Humphrey having obtained his long-covetedcharter to plant a colony in the N ew World in Junc.

All his money w as sunk in this unfortunate expedition, which onlymet disaster at the hands o fa Spanishfleet. Undaunted, however , Sir Humphrey set towork to collect more funds and information to pursuehis end. With the fir st D ee could no t help himmuch ; with the last he believed he could, and in

return he exacted a stake in the results : 1580 ,

Aug. 28th . my dealing with Sir Hum frey Gilbert fo rhis graunt o f discovery. Sept. l oth . Sir HumfreyGilbert graunted me my request to him made byletter , fo r the royalties o f discovery all to the northabove the parallell o f the 50 degree o f latitude, in thepresence o f Stoner , Sir John Gilbert his servant o rreteiner ; and thereupon took me by the hand w ith

1 Geo ffrey o f Monmouth , Historia. Br itonwm (c. Hak luyt(now about twenty-six years old) also says he had only a manuscriptcopy.

2 The country bo rdering the St. Lawrence and the site of the

present Montreal w as so called.

JANE DEE 53

faithful promises, in his lodging o f Cooke’s

'

house inWichcro ss Streete, where w e dyned, onely us threetogether , being Satterday .

It w as more than tw o years beforeGilbert succeededin getting enough other persons to embark theircapital in his project, and then he set out on his finalvoyage, the second to Newfoundland (the first havingbeen assisted by Raleigh, his half-brother , inWe all know the end, how, after he had planted hisraw colony of lazy landsmen , prison birds and sailors,

”

he set out in his little vessel, The Squir r el, to explorethe coast and sandbanks between Cape Breton Islandand Newfoundland, and then headed fo r England.

In a storm o ff the Azores , the little ship founderedand w as lost, its captain

’s last words being, We

are as near Heaven by sea as by land.

”

W ith another brother , Adr ian Gilbert, D ee had

much closer relations , as w e shall short ly see. Thisyounger half-brother of Sir Walter Raleigh w as

reputed a great chem ist in those days,” which o f

course meant something o f an alchem ist. H e isassociated in one’s m ind with Sidney’s sister ,Pembroke’s mother ,

” that accomplished and beautifulinspirer of the most exquisite epitaph ever penned,fo r he w as one of the “ ingenious and learned men

”

w ho filled her house at Wilton so that it w as lik e acollege.

”The Countess of Pembroke spent a great

deal yearly in the study o f alchemy, and kept Adrianas a laborant fo r a time.

1 He is described as a

buff'

oon who cared no t what he said to man o r

woman o f any quality. Bringing John Davis, another1 Aubrey, Lives , ed. Clark, vo l. i. , 31 1 .


o f the breezy Devon sea captains, Adrian came toMortlake to effect a reconciliation after some uncomfo rtable passages caused, as they found, by dishonestdealings on the part of William Emery, whom theynow exposed. John Davis say’d that he mightcurse the tyme that ever he knew Em ery, and somuch followed his wicked counsayle and advyse. Sojust is God ! Here again w e suspect Dee

’

s reputation fo r magic had been the trouble.

With the discovery o f so many new coasts and

islands across in the Western seas , the Queen w as

anxio us to know what r ight she had to call themhers, and what earlier navigator s had sailed to thembefore.

l

After Fro bisher’

s three voyages in search ofthe North-West Passage, she sent fo r the author o f

the H examer on and bade him set forth her titleto Greenland, E sto teland (Newfoundland) and Friseland.

1 This document he calls H er Majestie’s titleRoyal to many foreign countreys, kingdomcs and

provin ces in twelve vellum skins o f parchment, fairw r itten fo r herMajestie

’

s use and by herMajestie’

s comm andment—Anno Either he prepared another ,o r did no t present this to the Queen fo r tw o years.

1580 . O n Monday Oct. 3, at 1 1 o f the clockbefore none, I delivered my two Rolls o f the Q ueene

’

s

Majestie’s title unto herself in the garden at Richmond, w ho appointed after dynner to heare furdero f the m atter . Therfo rc betw eene o ne and twoafternone, I w as sent fo r into her highness PryvyChamber , where the Lord Threasurer allso w as, whohaving the matter slightly then in consultation,

did1 An imaginary island which long puzzled the navigators, really

the southern extremity o f Greenland.

JANE DEE 55

seme to doubt much that I had o r could make theargument probable fo r her highnes

’ title so as I pretended. Wheruppon I w as to declare to his honormore playnely , and at his leyscr , what I had sayd andcould say therein , which I did on Tuesday andWensday follow ing , at his chamber , where he used me veryhonorably on his behalf.”

The next day D ee fancied that Burleigh slightedhim . H e called to see him , and w as not adm itted ;he stood in the ante-chamber when the great man

came out, but the Lord Treasurer swept by and didnot o r would no t speak to me.

” Probably he w as

pondering deeply on important matters of state.

Dee’s hopes of preferment fell to the ground, and hew as persuaded that some new grief w as conceyvcd.

”

D ee w as ambitious ; he w as no t yet surfeited withfame o f wealth he had none, hardly even a competeney ; he w as vain , and he knew that he had giftswhich few of his countrymen could rival o r evenunderstand and he w as no longer young. Suchadvantages as he could

’attain must be secured quickly,

if they were to be enjoyed at all.

On the l oth , at four o’clock in the morning my

mother Jane D ee dyed at Mortlake ; she made a

godlyc endc : God be praysed therfo re ! She w as

77 yere old.

”

News o f this event quickly travelled to the Cour tat Richmond, and the Queen determined to signaliseher favour to D ee and her gratification at Burleigh

’

s

report o f his geographical labours, which reached heron the same day as the news of his loss, by a personalvisit of condolence.


Oct. l oth . The Q uenc’

s Majestic, to my greatcumfo rt (hora quinta), cam with her trayn from the

court, and at my dore gr aciously calling me to her ,on ho rsbak , exhorted m e briefly to take my mother

’

sdeath patiently, and w ithall told m e that the LordThreasurer had greatly comm ended my doings forher title, which he had to examyn , which title in tw orolls he had brought home two hour s before ; and

delivered to Mr . Hudson fo r m e to receive at mycom ing from my m other

’ s burial at church. Her

Majestic rem embered allso how at my wive’s death,

it w as her fortune likew ise to call uppon me.

”

So the fancied slight w as nothing. The Queen 5second rem arkably-timed visit w as followed up by ahaunch o f venison from my Lord Treasurer , and an

atmosphere of satisfaction reigned. O ne o f the rollso f which D ee wr ites is still in existence. It has on

one side o f the parchment a large map o f Atlantis,o r America, drawn with the skill o f a practised cartographer . At the top is his name, Joannes D ee,

”

and the date, Anno Among his papers is asmaller map, upon which large tracts in the Polarregions are marked Infinite yse. The other side ofthe roll is devoted to proving the Queen

’s title to landsshe would never see o r hear of, under the four following heads 1 . The Clayme in Particular . 2 . The

Reason o f the Claym e. 3. The Credit o f the Reason.

4. The value o f that Credit by Force o f L aw .

D ee w as also busied this summer attending at the

Muscovy House and wr iting instructions and drawinga chart fo r the tw o captain s, Charles Jackson and

1 Reproduced in Hakluyt’s Principal Naviga tions, Glasgow ed.

vol. viii.


Petersham, on Fryday, the next day after St. Lawrence day, being the 11th day of the m onth . Mywife went on foot with her , and Ellen Cole, mymayd, George and Benjamin , in very great showerso f rain .

Nevertheless the little Katherine seemed toflourish, and there are entr ies of monthly payments o fsix shillings to her nurse, with allowance fo r candlesand soap, up to August 8 o f the follow ing year , whenKate is sickly,

”and on the 2oth is reported as still

diseased . Four o r five days after , she w as takenfrom nurse Garret, of Petersham, and weaned at

home. The mother had several times been over tosee the child, sometimes on foot, attended by Georgeo r Benjamin , the servants , and once by water withMistress Lee in Robyn Jackes bote.

”The children

seemed in trouble at this time, fo r about seven weeksbefore Arthur fell from the top of the WatergateStayres, down to the fote from the top, and cut hisfo rhcd on the right eyebrow.

” This w as at the old

landing-place at Mortlake . Their childish ailmentsare always most carefully recorded in the diary, evenwhen the cause is a box on the ears—probably wellearned—from their quick-tempered mother . Jane’sfriends Mr . and Mrs. Scudam ore, and their daughter ,and the Queen ’ s dwarf, Mrs. Tomasin , all came fo r anight to Mortlake. Jane went back with MistressScudamore to the Court at Oatlands . A number o fother visitors are named, including Mr . Fo skcr ofthe wardrobe.

”

CHAPTER V

THE SEARCH FOR A MED IUM

“Truth is within ourselves ; it takes no rise

From outward things, whate’

er you may believeThere is an inm o st centre in us all

Where truth abides in fulness ; and aroundWall upon wall, the gro ss flesh hcms it in ,

This perfect clear perception, which is truth.

A baflling and perverting carnal meshBinds it and makes all erro r ; and to KNOWRather consists in opening out a w ay

t nce the imprisoned splendour may escape

Than in effecting entry fo r a lightSuppo sed to b e w ithout.

—BROWN ING, Para celsus.

DEE had always, working with and under him , a

number of young students and assistants, w ho wereadm itted more o r less to his inner counsels. If they

proved apt and diligent, he would reward them withpromises of alchemical secrets, whereby they m ighthonestly live” ; once he prom ised £100 ,

“ to be paid assoon as o f my o w n clere hability, I myght spare somuch.

” This w as a very safe proviso. Generousas he w as, lavish to a fault, money never stucknear him, no r w as it o fthe least value in his eyes, exceptas a means of advancing science and enr iching others .Naturally, jealousies arose among the assistants .They would suddenly depart from his service, and


spread ignorant and perverted reports o f his experi

ments. Roger Cook, w ho had been with his masterfourteen years, took umbrage on finding him selfbarred from vew o f my philosophical dealing withMr . Henr ick . H e had im agined him self the chosenconfidant, fo r to him D ee had revealed, December 28 ,1579 , what he considered a great alchem ical secreto f the action o f the elixir of salt, one upon a

hundred. Roger w as now twenty—eight, o f a

melancho lik nature, and had been pycking and devising occasions o f just cause to depart on the sudden,

”

fo r he w as jealous of a newer apprentice. On

September 7th , 1581 , Roger went fo r alltogetherfrom me.

” But it w as no t alltogether , fo r Rogerreturned when D ee w as o ld and infirm and poor , andremained serving him almost to the end. There w as

always something patr iarchal in D ee’

s care fo r themembers of his large household , evidenced abundantly in his diary. No doubt their loyalty to himw as often severely tried by harsh and cruel outsiderumours , but as they knew and loved his real naturethey only drew closer towards him.

A new phase o f his character is now forced uponus . H e has appeared hitherto as the man o f learning,astronomer and mathematician , a brilliant lecturer anddemonstrator , diligent in probing the chem ical andalchemical secrets of which his vast reading, hisforeign correspondence, and his unique library gavehim cognisance. Interested in geographical discoveryand history, a bibliographical and mathematical writer ,his genuine contributions to science had been con

siderable. H e had written upon navigation and

THE SEARCH FOR A MEDIUM 6 1

history, logic, travel, geometry, astrology, heraldry,genealogy, and many other subjects . H e had essayedto found a National Library, and w as contemplatinga great work upon the reformation o f the Calendar .

But these purely legitimate efforts o f his genius werediscounted in the eyes o f his contemporaries by theabsurd suspicions with which his name had beenassociated ever since his college days . After hisarrest and trial by Bonner , he never really succeededin shaking o ff this savour o f something magical. The

popular idea of D ec in league with evil powers w as,

of course, the natural result of ignorance and dullunderstanding. To a public reared in super stition,

untrained in reasoning, unacquainted w ith the

simple laws o f gravitation, the power to raise heavybodies in the air at w ill, to see pictures in a simplecrystal globe, o r converse w ith projections o f theair , to forecast a man

’s life by geometr ic o r planetary calculations, and to discern the influence o f

one chemical o r mineral substance upon another ,seemed diabolically clever and quite beyond humanagency. Even to study Nature and her secretsw as to lay oneself open to the suspicion of beinga magician . W e must remember that in the

early years o f Queen Elizabeth’s reign it w as

thought necessary to pass an Act o f Parliamentdecreeing that allwho practised sorcery causing deathshould suffer death ; if only injury w as caused,impr isonment and the pillory should be the punishment . Any conjuration of an evil spir it w as to bepunished by death as a felon , without benefit o f clergyo r sanctuary. Any discovery o f hidden treasure by


magical means w as punishable by death fo r a seco ndoffence.

But if magic w as tottering on its throne, thereign o f alchemy w as still uncontested . Belief in itw as universal, its great votaries in the past were o f all

nations . St. Dunstan o f Glastonbury, Roger Bacon,

Raymond Lully, Canon George Ripley o f Br idlington ,Albertus Magnus, Cornelius Agrippa, Arnold dc

Villa Nova and Paracelsus, all their writings, and hundreds o f others, D ee had in his library and constantlyupon his tongue . Alchemy w as not only a science, itw as a religion and a romance. It w as even thenenduring the birth-throes and sickly infancy of

modern chemistry, and the alchem ists’ long search forthe secret o f making gold has been called one o f itscr ises. Long after this it w as still an article of faith,that such a man as Robert Boyle did not deny . We

cannot forget that even that great chemist, SirHumphry Davy, reverenced the possibility, and

refused to say that the alchemist’s belief in the powerto make gold w as erroneous . H ow unlike Dante

’skeen irony o f the dark and groping men who seek

fo r peltro, o r tin whitened with mercury. Butalchemy w as bursting with many other secrets beyondthe manufacture o f gold. The spiritual elementabounding in all minerals, and the symbolism underlying every actual substance, were deeply imbeddedin it. It w as a science o f ideals . It ever led itsfollowers on to scale illimitable heights o f knowledge,fo r in order to surpass all material and rational nature,and attain the crowning end, did no t Go d delegateHis ow n powers to the sage ? So the art o f healing

THE SEARCH FOR A MEDIUM 63

w as thought the noblest, the most Godlike task, andno means o f attaining hermetic w isdom were untried.

The psychical world became every bit as real to thesereligious mystics as the physical and rational, whichthey understood so vaguely. Even the strangeshapes which escaped from the retorts o f the oldalchem ists were known to them as souls . Theirsuccessors called them spirits . Paracelsus named themas mercury, and it w as left to his pupil, Van Hel

mont, the true founder o f all modern chemistry, togive the name o f gas.

It is easy to see how D ee, the astrologer , grew intoclose touch with those psychic phenomena which,though they have become extremely fam iliar to us , as

yet continue to baflle our most scientific researches .When he first became conscious o f his psychic powers,and how far he him self w as mediumistic, is harder todiscern . It is on May 25 , 1581 , that he makes inhis diary the momentous entry I had sight inChrystallo offered me, and I saw . W e may takeit that he “

saw” through a medium , fo r he never

afterwards seem s to have been able to skry w ithoutone. Perhaps his first crystal had then been givenhim , although, as w e have seen , he already ownedseveral curious m irrors, one said to be of Mexicanobsidian such as w as used fo r toilet purposes by thatancient race. H e had made a study of optics

, and in

his catalogue o f the manuscr ipts o f his library are

many famous writings on the spectrum, perspectiveand burning glasses, etc. Then came the troublewith Roger , his incredible doggedness and ungrate

fulness against me to my face, almost ready to lay


violent hands on me.

”1 D ec hears strange rappingsand knockings in his chamber . A gentleman came

from Lewisham to consult him about a dream manytimes repeated . D ee prays with him , and hisdream is confirmed and better instruction given .

A mysterious fire breaks out fo r the second time in

the maydens chamber at night. The knocking isheard again , this time accompanied with a voicerepeated ten times . N0 words apparently, but a soundlike the schr ieb o f an o w l, but more longly draw nand more softly, as it were in my chamber .

”H e has

a strange dream of being naked and my skyn all

over wrought with work like some kinde of tuftmockado , with crosses blew and red ; and on my leftarm , ab ow t the arm in a wreath, these words Iread Sine me nihil po testis facere.

’

And anotherthe same night o f Mr . Secretary Walsingham, Mr.

Candish and myself. ” Then he w as ten days fromhome, at Snedgrcene, w ith John Browne, to hearand see the manner of the doings .

” Evidently someremarkable manifestation . He w as becoming moreinterested in psychic problems, but he w as not able toproceed without a medium , and the right one had not

yet appeared.

Meanwhile, he fills his diary with all manner ofinteresting news. Vincent Murphy, the co sencr

who had defamed him , and against whom in September , 1580, he had instituted a troublesome law -suit

,

w as condemned by a jury at the Guildhall to payIA

1 This entry and many other similar ones are written in Greekcharacters, but the wo rds are English . It w as a natural precautionof the diarist, whose house w as the abode of many servants .


high, it lasted an howr , all the skye clere abow t and

fayr star-shyne.

”

D ee made a j ourney into Huntingdonshire, bySt. Neots, to Mr . Hickman

’s at Shugborough, in thecounty o fWarw ick. Young Bartholomew Hickmanw as afterwards to become the companion and servantof his o ld age, and manifested some slight mediumistic powers . O n the w ay home, a month o r twolater , D ec rode into Sussex to Chailey, probably to theglass works there. The Queen and Mons ieur wereat Whitehall.A pretty little scene w as enacted at Mortlake at

the New Year , when Arthur D ee andMary Herbert,they being but 3 yere o ld, the eldest o f them, didmak as it were a shew o f childish marriage, of callingeach other husband and wife.

” Then D ee essays aharmless little play upon words . The first dayMary Herbert cam to her father ’s house at Mortlake,the second day she came to her father ’ s house at EastShene. Mrs. D ee went the same day to see the

baby Katherine at Nurse Garret’ s, and MistressHerbert went with her . So the tw o families were ingreat unity .

Sir George Peckham, w ho sailed with Sir HumphreyGilbert, came to consult D ee about exploration inNorth America, and promised a share in his patent ofthe new lands. He also sent dow n his sea-master ,Mr .

Clement, and another gentleman, Mr . Ingram, to see

the mathematician . Fo r Sir John Killigrew, Dee

devised a w ay o f protestation to save him harmlessfo r compounding fo r the Spaniard who w as robbed he

promised me fish against Lent. ” Haller came again


to get instructions how to transfer his money toNuremberg, and to get letters o f introduction to

Constantinople. By him, D ee sent letters to corre

spondents in Venice, where the German explorer w asto winter .

Mr . Newbury, w ho had been in India, came earlyin the New Year . D ee recounts how the stage in

that well—known o ld London place of amusement,the Paris Garden , o n Bankside, Southwark, fell downsuddenly while it w as crammed with people beholdingthe bear -baiting. Many people were killed thereby,more hurt, and all amazed. The godly expound it asa due plague o f God fo r the wickedness there used,and the Sabbath day so profanely spent.

” Sunday w asthe great day fo r the bear-fights.

1583.— J an . 23. Mr . Secretarie Walsingham cam

to my howse, where by good luk he found Mr .

Aw drian Gilbert, and so talk w as begonne o f Northwest Straights discovery .

J an . 24 . Mr . Aw drian Gilbert and John Daviswent by appointment to Mr . Secretary, to Mr . Bealehis house

,where o nly w e four were secret, and w e

made Mr . Secretarie privie of the N . W . passage, andall charts and rutters were agreed uppon in generall.

Feb . 3. Mr . Savile, Mr . Pow il the younger ,travaylo rs, Mr . O ttomeen his sonne cam to beacquaynted with me.

Feb . 4. Mr . Edmunds ofthe Privie Chamber , Mr .

Lee, Sir Harry Lee, his brother , w ho had byn in

Mo scho via , cam to b e acquaynted with me.

Feb . 1 1 . The Queene lying at Richmond wentto Mr . Secretar ie Walsingham to dynner ; 1 she

1 Walsingham’

s house atBarn Elm s is now pulled dow n , and its parkfo rms part o f the beautiful pleasure grounds o f the Ranelagh Club .

F 2


coming by my dore gratiously called me to her , and

so I went by her horse side as far as where Mr .

Hudson 1 dwelt.Feb . 18 . Lady Walsingham cam suddenly to my

house very freely, and shortly after that she w as gone,cam Syr Francis him self, and Mr . Dyer .

March 6 . I and Mr . Adrian Gilbert and JohnDavis did mete with Mr . Alderman Barnes , Mr .

Town son and Mr . Yong and Mr . Hudson, about theN . W . passage.

March 17 . Mr . John Davy s went to Chelsey w ithM r . Adrian Gilbert to Mr .R adfo rths, and so , the 18th

day from thence, to D evonshyre.

April 18 . The Queene went from Richmondtoward Greenwich, and at her going on ho rsbak ,being new up, she called fo r me by Mr . Rawlyhis putting her in myndc, and she sayd quoddefertur non aufertur ,

’

and gave me her right handto kisse.

While these every-day events were going on and

being chronicled, D ee w as also occupying himselfwiththe search fo r a medium. H e fir st tried one namedBarnabas Saul (he seem s to have been a licensedpreacher ), who professed himself an occultist. Saul

gives news of buried treasure— great chests of

precious books hidden somewhere near Oundle inNorthamptonshir e, but the disappointed book-loverfinds the hoard an illusion . Then Saul, w ho slept

’

in

a chamber over the hall at Mortlake, is visited at

midnight by a spiritual creature.

”

The first real séance that D ec records,Actio

Saulina,”

took place on December 21 , 15 81 . The

1 Thomas Hudson, o f Limehouse, a traveller in Persia andAstrakhan . He had probably a country house by the river .


skryer w as hidden to look into the great crystallineglobe,

”and a message w as transm itted by the angel

Annael through the percipient to the effect thatmany things should be declared to D ec, no t by the

present worker , but by him that is assigned tothe stone. After New Year ’s tide, on any day

but the Sabbath, the stone w as to be set in the

sun, the brighter the day the better , and sight shouldbe given . The sitters m ight deal both kneelingand sitting . When w e consider how very real toa devout person in the Middle Ages apparitions o fthe devil and of evil spir its were, there seem s nothingat all extraordinary in D ee

’

s belief that good spir itsalso m ight be permitted to come to his call, fo r purposes o f good.

A month o r tw o after this, Saul w as indicted o n

some charge and tried in Westminster Hall, but,thanks to Mr . Serjeant Walmesley and a couple ofclever lawyer s, he w as acquitted. There w as an end ofhis clairvoyance, however : he confessed he neytherherd o r saw any spir itual] creature any more. Ifthe accusation against him had been that ofsorcery, he w as w ise to risk no further appearauces in Westminster Hall. H e seem s to havespread abroad many false reports about D ee, whoreproached him bitterly when he called at Mortlakea few months later . D ee had , however , gainedpsychical experience by these early and tentativeexperiments .The field w as now Open fo r a maturer applicant.When he arr ived, he w as to change the whole currento f D ee

’

s life and outlook, to become at once a


helper and a stumbling-block, a servant and a

master , loving as a son, treacherous as only a jealousfo e. It w as a strange fate that sent Edward Kelleyto D ec at this moment, when everything w as ripefo r his appearance. And it w as characteristic ofthe man that he w as ushered into Dee’s life undera feigned name.

On March 8 , tw o days after Saul had confessed hesaw and heard no m ore o f the spir its, D ee writes inhis diary, Mr . Clerkson and his frende cam to myhowse.

”H e makes the visit very emphatic by

repeating the information : Barnabas went homeabow t 2 o r 3 o

’clock, he lay no t at my howse now ;

he went, I say , on Thursday, and Mr . Clerkson

came.

” At nine o’clock the same night, there w as awonderful exhibition o f the aurora in the northernand eastern heavens, which D ee describes minutelyin Latin in the diary. The next day, March 9, hementions Clerkson ’

s friend by name as Mr . Talbot,”

and shows how that individual appears to have beguningratiating himself with his new patron by tellinghim what a bad man his predecessor w as. Barnabashad said that D ee would mock at the new medium ;Barnabas had co sened both Clerkson and Dec.

This, Talbot professed to have been told by a

spir itual creature.

”

The pair proceeded at once to business. On the

loth, they sat down to gaze into my stone in a framegiven me o f a friend,

” with very remarkable results.Information w as vouchsafed that they should jointlytogether have knowledge o f the angels, if the will ofGod, viz. , conjunction o f m ind and prayer between


them, be performed. They were bidden to abuseno t this excellency no r overshadow it with vanity,but stick firmly, absolutely and perfectly in the loveof God fo r his honour , together . There were fortynine good angels, all their names beginning with B ,

w ho were to be answerable to their call.The first entry that D ee makes in his B ook of

Myster ies concerning Talbot is as follows1

One Mr . Edward Talbot cam to my howse, andhe being w illing and desyrous to see o r shew some

thing in spirituall practise, wold have had me to havedone something therein . And I truely excused myselftherein : as no t, in the vulgarly acco w nted Magik,neyther studied o r exercised. But confessed myselflong tyme to have byn desyr ous to have help ln myphilo sophicall studies through the cumpany and in

formation o f the blessed Angels o f God. And thereuppon, I brought furth to him my stone in the frame

(which w as given me o f a frende), and I sayd untohim that I w as credibly informed that to it (aftera sort) were answerable A liga i Angeli bani. And

also that I w as once w illed by a skryer to call fo rthe good Angel Annael to appere in that stoneto my o wne sight. And therefore I desyred himto call him , and (if he would) Anacho r and Anilo slikew ise, accounted good angels, fo r I w as no t

prepared thereto.H e [Talbot] settled himself to the Action, and on

his knees at my desk, setting the stone before him ,

fell to prayer and entreaty, etc. In the mean space,I in my Oratory did pray and make motion to God

1 MS . Diary. Sloan e, 3188 . In a no te Dee says that he cam e to his

house tw o days befo re, and tried to entrap him into owning hehad dealings with wicked spirits.


and his good creatures fo r the furdcring o f thisAction. And within o ne quarter o f an hour (o r less)he had sight of one in the stone.

”

The one to appear w as Ur iel, the Spirit of Light.O n the 14th, the angel Michael appeared, and gaveto D ec a ring with a seal. Only on tw o other occasionsdoes a tangible object pass between them. D ee w as

overjoyed at the success o f his new speculator o r

skryer the sittings were daily conducted untilMarch 21 , when the medium w as overcome withfain tness and giddiness , and Michael, who w as con

versing w ith him , bade them rest and wait fo r a quartero f an hour . The next day, Talbot departed fromMortlake, being bidden by Michael to go fetch some

books o f Lord Monteagle’

s which were at Lancaster ,o r thereby, and which would else perish.

H e returned before long , and all through April,instructions were being given at the sittings fo r thefuture revelations . Elaborate preparations wereneeded, and they were descr ibed in m inute detail.By Apr il 29 , a square table, the table of practice,

w as complete. It w as made o f sweet wood, and w as

about tw o cubits high by tw o cubits I mean our

usual with four legs . On its sides certaincharacters , as revealed, were to be wr itten with sacredyellow o il

,such as is used in churches . Each leg w as

to be set upon a seal of w ax made in the sam e patternas the larger seal, Sigilla ZEmeth , which w as to beplaced upon the centre o f the table, this seal to bemade of perfect, that is, clean purified w ax , 9 inchesin diameter , 27 inches o r more in circumference.

It w as to be an inch and half a quarter o f an


The spirits were kind enough to say : W e haVe no

respect o f cullours, but the table w as to be set upon

a square of red silk as changeable shot) as may

be, tw o yards square, and a red silk cover , withknops o r tassels at the feur corners, w as to belaid over the seal, and to hang below the edge of thetable. The crystal globe in its frame w as then to beset upon the centre o f the cover , resting on the sealwith the silk between .

The skryer seated himself in the green chair at

the table, D ee at his desk to write down the conversations . These were noted by him then and there at

the time, and he is careful to particularise any remarko r addition told him by the skryer afterwards . Oncea spir it tells him : There is time enough, and w e may

take leisure. Whereupon D ee rejoins : “ I make speedto wr ite.

” Sometimes D ee conversed directly withthe visitant ; sometimes apparently only Talbot hearsand repeats to him what is said. A golden curtainw as usually fir st seen in the stone, and occasionallythere w as a long pause before it w as withdrawn .

Once D ee wr ites : He taketh the darkness and

w rappeth it up, and casteth it into the middle o f the

earthen globe.

”The spirits generally appeared in

the stone, but sometimes they stept down into a

dazzling beam o f light from it, and moved about theroom. O n some occasions a voice only is heard.

At the close o f the action, the black cloth o f silenceis drawn ,

”and they leave o ff fo r the present.

There are very few comments o r general impressionso f the actions left by D ee, but on one occasion he

does use expressions that show his analytical powers


to have been actively at work to account fo r the

phenomena . He brought his reason to bear upon themeans o f communication with the unseen world in a

remarkable manner . In speaking to the angels oneday he said : I do think you have no organs o rInstruments apt fo r voyce, but are meere spir itual]and nothing corporal], but have the power and

property from God to insinuate your message o r

meaning to ear o r eye [so that] man’s imagination

shall be that they hear and see you sensibly.

As Plotinus says , N o t everything which is in the

soul is now sensible, but it arrives to us when it

proceeds as far as sense.

”

The minute descr iptions o f the figures seen are o f

course characteristic o f clairvoyant o r mediumisticvisions. In the case o f Bo bogel, the account o f hissage and grave attire— the common dress o f a

serious gentleman o f the time—may be quoted.

They that now come in are jolly fellows, all

trymmed after the manner of N o bilitie now -a-dayes,with gylt rapiers and curled haire, and they braggedup and downe. Bo bogel standeth in a black velvetcoat, and his hose, close round hose o f velvet upperstocks, over layd with gold lace. He hath a velvethat cap with a black feather in it, with a cape on one

of his shoulders his purse hanging at his neck, andso put under his girdell. His beard long. H e had

panto ffo lls and pynsons.

1 Seven others are apparelledlike Bobogel, sagely and gravely.

1 Pinsons, thin slippers without heels.

CHAPTER VI

E DWARD KE LLEY

Kelley did all his feats upon

The Devil’s lo oking-glass, a stone

Where, playing with him at ho-peep,

He solvi

d all problems ne’

er so deep.

IT is now time to inquire w ho this Talbot, this seerand m edium, w as. Where did he come from, and

what w as his previous history ?That he came to the Mortlake philosopher under afeigned name is perhaps no t so damning an accusationas m ight at first sight appear . There w as in his case,certainly, every reason why he should change hisidentity, if possible, but an alias in those days w as socomm on a thing that perhaps more stress has beenlaid upon Kelley’s than is strictly fair .

The whole o f Kelley’s story is so wildly and

romantically coloured, it is so incredible, and so fullo fmarvels, that it is extremely difficult to know whatto believe. There is no disentangling the sober factso f his life from the romance attributed to him ; indeed,there are no sober facts, as the reader will see whenthe accepted traditions o f this extraordinary man ’scareer are laid down.

From March 8 to November, 1582, EdwardTalbot, the skryer , came and went in the Mortlake

EDWARD KELLEY 77

establishment, gazed in the crystal, and ingratiatedhimself into his employer ’s liking. Then he disappeared, and Edward Kelley took his place. Therehad been a quarrel o f some kind, precursor o f manyothers, and D ec opens his fourth B ook ofMyster ies, on November 15 , after the reconciliation

w ith Kelley.

” Henceforth E . K .

” is his name.

Kelley w as born at Worcester , on August 1 , 1555 ,as appears by the horoscope drawn fo r him by theastrologer . He began life as an apothecary’s apprentice, and showed some aptitude fo r his calling. Ithas been stated that, under the name o f Talbot, hestudied fo r a short time at Oxford, but left abruptlyunder a cloud. A few years later , he w as exposedin the pillory in Lancaster fo r having either forgedancient title deeds o r coined base money. Both featsare accounted to him. The next incident in his

career is a charge of having dug up a newly buriedcaitiff ’

s corpse in Walton -le-Dale churchyard,Lancashire, fo r the purpose of questioning the dead,o r an evil spirit speaking through his organs,

”

respecting the future of a noble young gentleman ,

then a m inor . After this savoury episode, Kelley isreported to have been wandering in Wales (it issuggested that he w as hiding from justice), when hestumbled accidentally upon an old alchem ical manuscript and tw o caskets o r phials containing amysteriousred and white powder . Another version of this discovery is that D ee and Kelley together found the

powder at Glastonbury.

1 This w e may dismiss .

1 The Life of Kelley, by A. E . Waite prefixed to histh ree alchemical treatises, is la rgely an imaginary sto ry based upon


Wherever he procured it, Kelley undoubtedly owneda small quantity o f some substance which he regardedas o f pr iceless value, inasmuch as, if properly understood and manipulated, it could be used fo r transmuting baser m etals into gold.

The reputation of the learned doctor o f Mortlake,w ho w as know n all over the Continent, w as a

favourite at Court, and in touch with every adventureby sea o r land, had o f course reached Kelley. Dee’s

parsonage of Upton-ou-Severn , near Worcester , didno t trouble him much with responsibility, but it musthave been on one occasional visit to it that hereceived from the Dean o f Worcester Cathedral aLatin volume, in which he inscribed the gift thus“ Johannes D ee, 1565 , Februarii 21 . W igo rnim, ex

dono decani ecclesim magistri Beddar .

W ith the powder that he d id no t know how touse, and the alchemical manuscript which he couldno t decipher , and which yet m ight contain the

invaluable secret (if indeed there is any truth in thestory o f his find), Kelley, the adventurer , sought outsome means o f introduction to the man so likely to

Lenglet du Fresnoy’s ( 1742) and Louis Figuier

’

s in L’Alclwmie

et les Alchemistes (Paris , He is called a skilled paleographer and a lchemist, a no tary in London , and a neighbour and

o ld friend o f Dec there. But Dee never lived in London after

1568, when Kelley w as aged thirteen , and the astro loger has carefully described Talbo t’s first appearance as a stranger in 1582.

Mr . Waite, who se learned writings on the mystics and alchemistsare well known, has no t consulted histo rical sources, such as Strype,no r the earliest MS . diary, and the vo lum inous True Relationprinted by Casaubon fifty years after Dee’s death . He invents agraceful sto ry o f his ow n

,as o thers have done befo re him . The

apo cryphal account by “ John Roby ” in the Romantic History 0]Lancashire is even mo re unreliable .

EDWARD KELLEY 79

help him . He had dabbled in alchemy, and cameto Mo rtlake with something o f a reputation, fo r D ec

speaks of him as that lerned man . It is utterlyunlikely that D ee had heard anything o f Kelley’sexploits in the north. Such doings would scarcelypenetrate the solemn recesses o f the laboratory on theThames side. So Kelley arr ived, and w as receivedin all good faith . He told D ee that the last seer ,Barnabas, had co sened him, and seem s to have at

once impressed him self favourably upon the astrologer ,who at the moment w as without a reliable assistant.The sittings began, as w e have seen , in March, andwere successful immediately. In May the messagecomes that none shall enter into the knowledge o f

thesemysteries but this worker , and Kelley’s positionis secured.

Kelley w as now about twenty-seven years o ld, andunmarried. H e w as hidden by the spirits on April 20to take a wife, which thing to do,

”he told D ee, I

have no natural inclination , neither with a safeconscience may I do it. But Michael had madehim swear on his sword to follow his counsel, so hemarried reluctantly, no t long after , Joan, o r Johanna ,Cooper , o f Chipping Norton, w ho w as eight years hisjunior , and about nineteen .

There w as little love on his side apparently, butthe girl seem s at any rate to have essayed to do herduty as a wife. She w as apparently a completestranger to the Dees , although soon to become a partof their household. What were Jane’s feelings at thethought o f this invasion o f her domestic peace w e

can o nly guess from an entry in D ee’

s diary madetw o days after one o f these first sittings. Dee does


not wr ite much about his w ife in his diary, save onlyentries relating to her health, and this one he hascarefully erased, as if he thought some disloyalty toher w as involved in it. It is, however , possible tomake it out almost entirely. 1582 , 6 May . Janein a merveylous rage at 8 of the cloke at night

,

and all that night, and next morning til] 8 o f the

cloke,melancho like and ch[? idedme]terriblyfo rSomething illegible follows, and then this thatcome to me only honest and lerned men. Finally,by Mr . Clerkson his help w as pacified]. What

can this mean save that she had taken a violent disliketo, and disapproval o f, Kelley ; that she mistrustedhis honesty and wished they might have no more todo w ith him ; that it w as only by his friend Clerkson ’s help that she w as at last quieted ? H er woman

’sintuition w as scarcely at fault ; however kindly she

came to treat her husband’

s medium afterwards,however charitable she showed herself, she w as rightin suspecting no good to come to D ec throughassociation with Kelley.

The accounts o f the actions with the spir its whichtook place under Kelley

’s control were minutelyw ritten down by D ee, as w e have seen,

mostly duringthe time o f the sittings . The papers had a romantichistory. The last thirteen books, which were in Sir

Thomas Cotton ’s library, were pr inted by D r . MericCasaubon about fifty years after Dee ’s death

,under

the title of A True and Faithful R elation ofw hatpassed for many Yeer s betw een D r . J ohn D ee,

a Mathematician of Gr eat Fame in Q . E lizabeth and

K J ames their R eig ns, and some Sp ir its : Tending

(had it succeeded) To a Gener al Alteration of mo st


Now fo r the history of the papers . Mrs. Wale,the warder ’s w ife, had brought them with her dowerfrom her lamented fir st husband, Mr . Jones,confectioner , of the Plow, Lombard Street. Whilecourting, these young people had picked up amongthe joyners in Adle Street a large chest whosevery good lo ok and hinges o f extraordinary neat

w ork took their fancy. It had belonged, said theshopman , to Mr . John Woodall, surgeon, father ofThomas Woodall , surgeon to King Charles II . and

Ashmo le ’s friend. H e had bought it probably at thesale of D ee

’

s effects in 1609 , after his death. The

Joneses owned the chest fo r twenty years w ithout asuspicion of its contents . Then , o n moving it oneday , they heard a rattle inside. Jones pr ized openthe space below the till, and discovered a large secretdrawer stuffed full of papers , and a rosary of olivewood beads with a cross, which had caused the rattle.

The papers proved to be the conferences w ith angelsfrom December 22 , 1581 , down to the time o f the

printed volume ; the original manuscripts o f the

(unprinted) books entitled, “48 Claves Angelica! ,D eH eptarchiaMystica, and “Liber Scientise Auxiliis et Victo riaa Terrestris . W e may imagineAshmole’s excitement when he found he had in hishand the earlier chapters of the very remarkable bookthat w as still in every one’s mouth, published onlythirteen years before.

We may now briefly examine this remarkable and

voluminous B o ok of Myster ies . In view o f the

fact that it is perhaps the earliest record o f mediumistic transactions, the first attempt to relate consecu

tive psychic transmissions , in fact a sort o f sixteenth

EDWARD KELLEY 83

century Proceedings o f a Society fo r PsychicalResearch , it seem s to warrant investigation at some

length.

The first book (still in manuscript) opens with a

Latin invocation to the Almighty, and an attributionof all wisdom and philosophy to their divine originalsource. It ends “ 0 beata et super benedictaomnipo tens Trinitas, concedas m ihi (Jo anni D ee)

petitionem hanc modo tali, qui tibi maxime placebit,Amen .

” Then comes a table of the four angelsMichael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel, their particularattributes, and their descent from Annael. A long

prayer in English follows, which gives a remarkableinsight into Dee

’s attitude o f m ind. Unfeignedhumility towards God, a certain unconsciousness o fself and o f his ow n particular acquirements, are

mingled with a calm assumption o f authority and

power to enter into the heart of knowledge. Thisw as perhaps the chief character istic o f the exaltedmysticism so prevalent at the time in a small sectionof alchemists, especially on the Continent. D ee w as

its representative in England, having, o f course,imbibed much o f it dur ing his residence abroad.

Paracelsus had been dead but forty years . Hisdisciples everywhere were seeking three secrets whichwere to fulfil his teaching —the secret o f transmutation, the elixir o f life, and the philosophic stone,key to all wisdom. Bruno w as still alive, developinghis theor ies of God as the great unity behind the

world and humanity . Copernicus w as not long dead,and his new theories o f the solar system were gradually becoming accepted. Galileo w as still a studentat Pisa, his inventions as yet slumbering in his brain .

G 2


Montaigne w aswr iting his gentle satires on humanity.

Everywhere and in every sphere new thought w as

beginning to stir.D ee did not scruple to claim in his prayer gifts likethose bestowed upon the prophets. He deprecates anykind o f traffi c with unauthorised o r unreliable spirits,and acknowledges again the only Source o f wisdom .

But since he has so long and faithfully followedlearning, he does think it o f importance that he shouldknow m ore. The blessed angels, fo r instance, couldimpar t to him things o f at least as much consequenceas when the prophet told Saul, the son o f Kish,where to find a lost ass o r tw o I A spirit afterw ardstold him that ignorance w as the nakedness wherew ithhe w as first tormented, and the first plague that fellunto man w as the want o f science.

”

He had reached that state o fmind when he seemedunable to discern any boundary line between finiteand infinite. His hope and his confidence were alikefixed on nothing less than wresting all the secrets o fthe universe from the abyss o f knowledge, o r, at anyrate , as m any o f them as Go d willed. He explainshow from his youth up he has prayed fo r pure and

sound wisdom and understanding,

such as might be brought, under the talent o f mycapacitie, to God

’s honour and glory and the benefito f his servants, my brethren and sisters. And forasmuch as fo r many yeres, in many places, far and nere,

in many bokes and sundry languages, I have wroughtand studyed, and w ith sundry men conferred, and

with my owne reasonable discourseLaboured, wherebyto fynde o r get some ynkling, glimpse, o r heame, ofsuch the aforesaid radical] truthes : And seeing


thee Mittas Lucem tuam et ver itatem, tuam qua? me

ducant, etc.

Then he go es on to say that his slight experiencewith two different persons has convinced him ofGod

’

s wish to enlighten him through His angels.H e has heard of a man accounted a good seer and

skryer , a master of arts and preacher o f theWord, andthrough his means he has seen spiritual apparitionseither in the christalline receptacle, o r in open ayre.

H e hopes to have help from this person until someafter man o r meanes are sent him from on high.

”

But Saul—fo r it is Saul he means - i s no t devout,sincere and honest. Evil spirits have come to him ,

much to D ee’

s terror but that thou didst pitch thyholy tent to my defence and com fort.” He has

quoted to Saul Roger Bacon ’s warning to wickeddevil-callers but the man cannot brook rebuke, andis angry at being further debarred from the mysterieswhich were the only things I desired, through thy

gr ace . H e begs, most humbly and deprecatingly,fo r leave to no te down the actions, and asks thatAnnael may come to his help.

Barnabas having proved so unreliable, he rejoicedat having found another skryer . The one accessorywanting , when all the table and seals were complete,w as a Shew stone.

”D ee seem s already to have

owned several. H e had used a crystal before thistime, but a new one w as desirable. O ne evening,towards sun set, a little child angel appears standing

in the sunbeams from the western window o f the

study,holding in its hand a thing m ost bright

most clere and glo rius , o f the bigness of an egg .

EDWARD KELLEY 87

Michael with his fiery sword appeared and bade D ec

Go forward, take it up, and let no mortal] handtouch it but thine ow n.

”

Michael tells them , too, that he and Kelley are tobe joined in the holy work , united as if one man.

But one is to be m aster , the other minister ; one thehand, the other the finger . They are to be contented

with their calling, fo r vessels are no t all o f one bigness,

yet all can be full. D ee is reminded that all hisknowledge is more wonderful than profitable, unlessthou art led to a true use of the same.

Another spirit, Medicus D ei, o r Medecina, says,Great are the purposes o f him whose medecine Icarry, and on one o f the early March days utterssome remarkable words on the precious doctrine ofthe universality of the Light

Your voices are but shadows o f the voices thatunderstand all things . The things you look on ,

because you see them not indeed, yo u also do nameamiss.We are fully understanding. W e open the eyes

from the sun in the morning to the sun at night.Distance is nothing with us , unless it be the distancewhich separateth thewicked from His mercy. Secretsthere are none, but that are bur ied in the shaddow o f

man ’s souls . Iniquitie shall no t range where thefire of his piercing judgment and election doth light.

Calvin had been dead but twenty years, but withhis scheme o f election and eternal reprobation D ee

had no affinity. His mind w as far more in harmonywith the ancient hermetic teaching that medicine,healing, w as the true road to all philosophy.

CHAPTER VII

THE CRYSTAL GAZ ERS

To fo llow knowledge like a sinking star

Beyond the utmo st bo und o f human thought.

—TENNYs0 N , Ulysses.

IT is a curious picture to call up, that o f the

strangely assorted pair seated in the inner room at

Mortlake, acting out this spir itual drama. D ee had

asked fo r instructions about the room fo r the sittings :May my little fartherest chamber serve, if the bedbe taken down The table, covered with its cloth,stood in the centre upon the seals . Kelley, perhapswith the black cap he is credited with having alwaysworn, pulled close o ver his cropped ears, w as seatedat it. D ee at his desk sat writing in the great foliobook. H e w as now fifty

-six years old ; his heard w as

long , but perhaps no t yet as white as milk, as

Aubrey describes it. H e did no t apparently ever seethe visions him self. Once he reproachfully said,You know I cannot see o r skry,

”H e conversed

with the spirits and sometimes heard what they said ;but to the eye and ear o f hisr body they wereinvisible hence his dependence upon a skryer .

The sole object of his ambition w as the attainmento f legitimate w isdom. When conversing with theangels, how near w ithin his grasp it seemed l Michael

’ sexposition seemed almost to promise it to himWilt thou have Witt and wisdom ? Here it is . ’


Who set Nature to thrust up her shoulder amongsttrees and herbs like a gentle fire ? H ow great is his

power in those in whom he kindleth a soul o f

understanding.

”

In Dee’s absence in London , at the MuscovyHouse, on Maundy Thursday (March Kelleytried to summon Medicina again , but w as only visitedby an “ illuder .

” Next day D ee asks fo r the veritie

o f his doings,”and is told that darkness has presumed

to put itself in place o f light. Kelley w ill no t beOverthrown , but he is to br ag not. When I yokedyour feathers together , I joined them no t fo r a

while. The illuder is made to confess deceptionand is consumed by fire, and D ec turns to his skryerwith Master Kelley, is your doubt o f the spirit takenawayD ee had been requested to prepare a calculation

fo r the reformation o f the Calendar , o r at any rate togive his opinion on the scheme propounded by PopeGregory. His calculations were approved by all theEnglish mathematicians of the time, but the Queen,

advised by the bishops, did no t see her w ay to adoptthem in effect. D ee tells his angel friends howgrieved he is that Her Majestic will no t reform

the Kalendar in the best terms of veritie. H e desirescounsel what to do .

Easter D ay passed, and the crystal gazing still wenton . The sittings were often long . O n Apr il 3,D ee ventured to tell his visitor that “ it will be darksoon, and our company will expect our com ing dow nto supper . If w ithout offence w e m ight now leaveo ff, it m ight seem good t o do so. Three days after ,

THE CRYSTAL GAZERS 91

he again offered a slight remonstrance, asking w hy

they had no t been warned of Mistress FrancesHoward’s coming, a gentlewoman of H er Majestie

’

s

Privy Chamber . She had caused interruption oftheir exercise fo r a full hour, o r two . W as this to beforgiven her because of her great charity, and goodness in procuring the Queen ’s alm s fo r many needypeople ?

The Queen w as then at Richmond, and D ec w as

several times at Court. H e seem s to have been thereto bid her adieu when she left fo r Greenwich on the18th At her going on horseback, being new up,she called fo r me, by Mr . Rawly his putting her in

myndc, and she sayd, ‘

quod defer tur non aufer tur ,’

and gave me her right hande to kisse.

”

D ee w as now puzzling over some mysterious papersbrought him by Kelley, whether those he is reportedto have found in Wales o r Glastonbury w e can

scarcely decide, but they seem to concern ten placesin England where treasure w as supposed to be bid.

There is a curious draw ing of them in the MS . diaryAfter coming from the Court, I thought I would

try to discover the cipher o f the paper E. K. broughtme as w illed to do , found at Huets Cross, with a bookof magic and alchemy, to which a spiritual creatureled them. D ee w as by no means the easy dupe o f

Kelley that he has been called. Tw o o r three monthsafter he first knew him he writes in his diary of hisabominable lyes and he here makes a very telling

remark, an aside, so to speak : Of this K . , I doubt

yet.”

Kelley’

s ho t, uncontrollable nature and his over


bearingways had alr eady begun to appear . There w as

an outbreak at supper one night because Charles Sledhad done him an injur ie in speechc at my table.

Probably some story o f his early career had beenraked up . A voice next m orning says to him appro

priately : Serve God and take hold o f nettles .The manuscript in crabbed signs puzzled the astrologer desperately, and he w as unhappy at the delay.

An angel tells him they are to be rocks in faith.

”

While sorrow be measured thou shalt bind up thyfardel]. H e is no t to seek to know the mysteries tillthe very hour he is called. Can you ho w to Natureand no t honour the workman ?

”

A new spirit visits them , I], a merie creature,apparelled like a Vyce in a [morality] play. He

skipped here and there. D ee asks where is hisArabic book o f tables that he has lent and lost. I]says it is in Scotland and is nothing worth. Then D ee

asks about the Lo rd Treasurer ’s books, fo r he had no tseen Burleigh

’

s library, and had all the r ival collector ’sjealousy over his ow n treasures . He w as never quitesure that Burleigh w as his fr iend there seemedalways a suspicion in his mind where the LordTreasurer w as concerned . The feeling w as reflectedin a curious dream that he had soon after the beginning o f his partnership with Kelley I dreamed onSaturday night that I w as deade, and afterwards mybowels w er taken o ut. I walked and talked withdivers, and among other with the Lord Threso rer ,who w as com to my howse to burn my bo okes whenI w as dead. I thought he looked sourely o n me.

”

N ow ,I] tells him that Burleigh has no books


more, if at the end he might be sure o f attaining to

godly wisdom,whereby to do God service fo r H is

glory. He w as resolved either w illingly to leave thisworld, to enjoy the fountain o f all wisdom, o r to passhis days o n earth in the enjoyment of its blessings and

mysteries.An other violent scene occurred before long ; thistime the mistress of the house w as the one offended.

D ee says : By A[dr ian] G[ilbert] and Providence,E . K .

’

s vehement passions were pacified . H e cameback again to my house, and my wife w as willing andquiet in m ind and friendly to E . K. in word and countenance. A new pacification in all parts confirmedand all upon the confidence o f God his service faithfully performed.

” Kelley’s wife had no t yet joined himat Mortlake, but he had occasional letters from her .

One found him in a tender religious mood, about topray in his bedchamber , on a little prayer bookwhich Mr . Adrian Gilbert had left here, and it lay on

the table du1ing the action.

” It w as Seven Sobbes ofa So r r owful Soulfor Sinne, in English metre, madeby Mr . William Harris.” When he opened it, hefound some automatic script in the end, o r , as he

calls it, a counterfeit of his ow n hand. H e took it toD ec, who saw in it the work o f a w icked spir it tryingto shake their confidence. The next evening, bothprayed against their enemy, Kelley on his knees beforethe green chair standing at the chimney. Urielappeared and said temptation w as requisite. If itwere no t, ho w should men know Go d to be merciful ? ”

H e speaks to Kelley Thou, O yongling, but o ldsinner, why dost thou suffer thy blindness to increase ?

THE CRYSTAL GAZERS 95

Why not yield thy Limbs to the service and fulfillingof an eternal veritie ? Pluck up thy heart, and followthe w ay that leadeth to the knowledge of the end.

”

He explains how the trouble is caused by Belmagel,

the firebrand w ho hath followed thy soul from the

beginning.

”

The whole o f this spring, the pair of partners hadbeen busily engaged in preparing the various thingsthe table, the w ax seals , the ring and lam in —requiredfo r use. Most complicated diagrams o f letters andfigures had also been dictated to them , and Kelley,whose mathematical training had been slight, w as

sometimes very exhausted . Once fire shoots out ofthe crystal into his eyes , and when it is taken back, hecan read no more. As D ee remarks one day to a

spirit, apologising fo r his many questions : Fo r myparte I could finde it in my heart to contynue wholedays and nights in this manner o f doing , even tyll mybody should be ready to synk down fo r wearinessbefore I could give over , but I feare I have causedweariness to my frends here.

” A journey is foretold,but first of all Kelley is to go to the places of hiddentreasure, and bring earth, that it may be tested. H e

may be away ten days . H e bought a pretty dunmare fo r the journey, of good man Pentico st,

”fo r

which he paid £3 ready money in angels . A dayo r tw o after , he took boat to London to buy a saddle,bridle, and boote-hose.

”

At supper the night before he started, in a clairvoyant state, he had an extraordinary prophetic sightof the execution o f Mary Queen of Scots , a beautifulwom an having her head cut o ff by a tall black man .


He also speaks o f seeing the sea, covered withmany ships . Uriel warns them that foreign Powersare providing ships against the welfare o f England,which shall shortly be put in practice. It is hardlynecessary to remind the reader that the Queen o f

Scots’ execution and the defeat o f the SpanishArmada took place in tw o follow ing years, 1587,1588 , four years after this vision .

“ IF I HAD KNOWNE TH IS AN D HAD DON E so n

I HAD AVOYDED M ICK LE w o n.

”

THOMAS N ORTON The 0 r dm a ll of Alchz’

my .

CHAPTER VIII

MADIMI

Therefo re fo r spirits I am so far from denying their existencethat I could easily believe that no t only who le countries but

particular persons have their tutelary and guardian angels. It is

not a new opinion , but an o ld one o f Pythago ras and Plato . There

is no heresy in it, and if no t manifestly defined in Scripture, yetit is an Opinion of good and who lesom e use in the course and

actions of a man’

s life, and would serve as an hypothesis to so lvemany doubts whereof common philosophy affo rdeth no so lution.

”

—Sm Tuomas Baowmc, Religio Medici.

DEE’

s costly apparatus and experiments, his largeestablishment and generous treatment Of his servantsand assistants, his entertainment o f great folk, wereall heavy drains upon his resources . H e spent lavishamounts upon books and manuscripts fo r his librarybe contributed as able to some o f the Adventurersfunds. He borrowed freely, and he had sometimesto run long bills . Beside the rent o f the tw o livings

(about £80 a year ) he had no fixed income. The

Queen w as ever promising him b encfices which eithernever fell vacant, o r when they did, had to be

bestowed elsewhere. At the time he first fell inwith Kelley, he knew no t where to turn fo r money.Almost at this very moment, however , a rich patronappeared unexpectedly on the horizon and changedDee’s outlook fo r several years .On March 18 , 1583, Mr . North came to Mortlakebringing a salutation from Albert o r AdelbertJ .D . H


Laski, Count Palatine o f Siradia, a Polish Princethen about to arr ive on a visit to the Queen. He

wished to make Dee’s acquaintance , to see his library,

and discuss magic, Of which he had made a study.

Laski w as one o f the most powerful o f the Polishnobles reconverted to Catholicism . H e had taken a

veryprom inent part in the patriotic movement of a

few years before in Poland, when almost everyEuropean sovereign had made a bid fo r the Polishcrown . Elizabeth’s Old suitor , the Due d

’Alencon,

had actually worn it a month o r two before escapingin the night to his brother Of France. Laski w as adashing adventurer o f heroic courage, quite unscrupulous as to cost and although he had favouredthe claims o f the Emperor of Austria, he had, Openlyat least, agreed in the people’s victorious choice OfStephan Bathory. When that Transylvanian Princehad been elected King in 1576 , Laski had taken a

prom inent part in affairs . H e w as popular and

ambitious , no t w ithout aspiration towards the Polishcrown him self. Burleigh, in wr iting o fhim to Hatton ,

called him a personage o f great estimation, few in

the Empire of the greatest exceed him in sovereigntyand power . H e is described by contemporaryw riters as a most learned man , handsome in statureand lineaments, richly clothed, o f very comely and

decent apparel,”and o f graceful behaviour . H e wore

his beard very long, not clipped close like the Englishcourtiers . 1 He arr ived in London by Harwich on

May D ay, and proceeded to Winchester House,1 N ico las, Life of Sir Christopher Hatton, quoting Camden,

p. 324 ; Darcy, Anna ls of Elizabeth Bo ok III ., p . 42 .


The visit w as repeated on the 19th , when the

distinguished foreigner w as hospitably entertained fo rthe night. The Queen w as then at Greenwich, buto n July 30 she and her court proceeded in greatsplendour up the r iver to Sion House. She passedby Dee’s door , and probably paused as usual fo r a

greeting. Next morning Leicester rode over toMortlake, and put the household in commotion byannouncing that Lask i and others would come todine at Mortlake o n the next day but one. Thesefestivities were a great tax on the astrologer ’s m eans,and he confessed sincerely that he w as no t able toprepare them a convenient dinner , unless I shouldsell some o f my plate o r some o f my pewter fo r it.Whereupon her Majestic sent unto me very royally,within one hour after , forty angells o f goldfrom Sion , whither her Majestie w as now come fromGreenwich . Leicester ’s secretary, Mr . Lloyd, w asdespatched post-haste with the gift, prompted, as

D ee adds , “ through the Erle his speech to the

Queene. O ne imagines Leicester ’s somewhatperemptory suggestion and the Queen ’s impulsiveacquiescence. In m inor matters she w as woman

enough to relish being sometimes dictated to. The

secretary also brought what w as hardly less acceptableto D ec, viz. , Mr . R aw ligh his letter unto me of herMajestie’s good disposition unto me.

” Raleigh w as

then in great favour with the Queen.

In the intervals between these visits o f the Prince,the spirits had been consulted about Laski

’s prospects.They had at once interested themselves in him , and

Madimi, one of the most fascinating o f these psychical

MAD IMI 101

projections, had vouchsafed some kind o f genealogicalinformation, connecting him w ith the Lacys and

Richard, Duke of York. She w as the first o f the

female angels w ho appeared to D ec, as it seemed inanswer to his arguments reproving Trithemius, whohad asserted that no good Spirits ever took the shape o fwomen. Madimi, who suddenly appeared on May 28 ,

w as like a pretty girle o f 7 o r 9 years , attired in a

gown of Sey, changeable green and red, with a trainher hair w as row led up before and hanging downvery long behind.

”She came into the study and

played by herself ; she seemed to go in and out

behind my books ; the books seemed to give

place sufliciently, one heap with the other, while she

passed between them She announced that herelder sister would come presently, and correctedDee’s pronunciation o f her name. My sister is no tso short as you make her : E sem éli no t E sémeli.

”

Madimi w as a very clever and accomplished littlefairy. She learned Greek, Arabic, and Syrian on

purpose to be useful to D ec. O n June 14 D ee askedthe spirit Galvah, o r Fin is, what she had to say aboutthe Po landish Lord Albertus Laski . The replycame, Ask me these things to-morrow. But whenthe next day came, Kelley, the seer , spent all thatafternoon (almost) in angling, when I w as verydesirous to have had his company and helping handin this action . SO at the next sitting Galvahadministers to Kelley a sharply pointed reproof :You, sir , were best to hunt and fish after Verity.

D ee adds that she spake so to E . K. because hespent to o much time in Fishing and Angling. Then


he asked if Laski should return to Poland in August,if his relation with the Prince should bring himcredit, and how should he use himself therin toGod’s liking , his country

’

s honour , and his ow n

credit. ” Galvah replied oracularly : H e shall wantno direction in anything he desireth. Whom Godhath arm ed, no m an can prevaile against.

” Again, on

June 19 , D ee asked if it would be best fo r the Princeto take the fir st opportunity o f going homeward.

It shall be answered soon , replied Galvah.

May he be present at the actionThose that are o f this house are no t to he denied

the Banquets therein .

May I request you to cause some sensibleapparition to appear to him , to comfort him and

establish his minde more abundantly in the godlyintent o f God his service ? ”

If he follow us , let him be governed by us. Butwhatsoever is o f flesh is no t o f us .”

You perceive how he understandeth o f the LordTreasurer his grudge against him . And perhaps someothers also are of like malicious nature. What dangermay follow hereof, o r encomb rance

The sum o f his life is alr eady appointed ; one jotcannot b e dimin ished. But he that is Almighty canaugment at his pleasure. L et him rej oice in poverty,b e sorry fo r his enemies, and do the works o f justice.

”

Then the cloud o f invisibility -a drop scenebetween the acts—came over Galvah, and she disappeared .

Next day Laski w as present at the action. An

angel named Jubanladec appeared, and said he w as

appointed the Prince’s good governour o r Angel,


him . Leicester flattereth him . His doings are lookedinto narrowly . But I do alw ayes inwardly dir ecthim . I will minister such comfort to him as shallbe necessary in the m idst o f all his doings .

”

Mingled with these sayings were some propheticalutterances about Laski overcoming the Saracens andPaynim s with a bloody cross shown in his hand, andabout Dee’ s passing to his country and aiding him toestablish his kingdom . Then the familiar Spirit sankthrough the table like a spark of fire, seeming tomake haste to his charge, I mean the Lord Laski.

”

O n Wednesday, the 26th , Laski again being

present, the good angel I] appeared with a besomin his hand . The Prince’s pedigree w as then barelybegun, but o n June 29 the clever little Madimi

promised to fin ish the book exactly as D ee wouldhave written it. It w as no matter where the bookw as left, she told him , locked up o r lying about.Your locks are no hindrance to us .”

You have eased my heart o f a thousand poundweight,

”ejaculated D ee, fervently. N ow I shall

have leisure to follow my sute, and to do all Mr .

Gilbert’s businesse.

p Madimi w as much to o learned a scholar fo r Kelley,who on this same day grew very angry with her fo rspeaking to him in Greek, o f which he knew nothing,no t even the alphabet. As an alternative she gavehim Arabic . Unless you speak some languagewhich I understand, I w ill expresse no more o f thisGibberish,

”he said, rudely.

Poor D ee His skryer w as a constant anxiety tohim. Like every medium since known, he would

MAD IMI 105

sometimes apply himself and sometimes not, w as

often honest and yet frequently a cheat.Dee writes

My heart did throb oftentimes this day , and Ithought E . K . did intend to absent him self from m e,

and now upon this warning , I w as confi rmed, and

more assured that it w as so . Whereupon seeing himmake such haste to ride to Islington , I asked himwhy he so hasted to ride thither . And I said if itwere to ride to Mr . Harry Lee, I would go thitheralso, to be acquainted with him seeing now I had sogood leisure, being eased o f the book wr iting [throughMadimi

’

s good offices]. Then he said that one toldhim the other day that the Duke

1 did but flatter him ,

and told him other things, both again st the Dukeand me. I answered fo r the Duke and myself, andalso said that if the forty pound annuity whichMr . Lee did offer him w as the chief cause Of hismind feeling that w ay (contrary to some Of his former

promises to me), that then I would assure him o f

fifty pounds yearly, and would do my best by following o f my sute [with the Queen] to bring it to passeas soon as possibly I could, and thereupon did makehim promise upon the Bible. Then E . K . again ,

upon the sam e Bible, did swear unto m e constantfriendship and never to forsake me : And moreoversaid that unless this had so faln o ut, he would havegone beyond the Seas, taking ship at Newcastle,within eight days next. And so w e did plight o urfaith to one another , taking each other by the handsupon these points Of brotherly and friendly fidelityduring life, which Covenant I beseech God to turnto his honour , glorie and service, and the comfort ofour brethren (his children ) here on earth .

”

1 Laski. They were all uncertain about his titles.


This reconciliation w as no t fo r long, in spite Of theprom ised salary, and soon another scene occurred.

O n June 5 D ee wr ites that from nine in the morningKelley w as in a marvellous great disquietness ofmind, fury and rage,

” because his brother ThomasKelley brought him word, first, that a commission w as

out to attach and apprehend him as a felon fo r coiningmoney ; second, that his wife, whom he had left atMistress Freeman

’s house at Blockley, having heardfr om Mr . Hussey that he w as a co sencr , had gonehome to her mother , Mrs. Cooper , at ChippingNorton . D ee is touched with a great pang o f compassion , grieved that any Christian should use suchspeeches and be o f so revenging a mind, even morethan he is distressed that his o w n credit shall beendangered fo r embracing the company Of such a

disorderly per son , especially if he be arrested atMortlake, which w ill be no small grief and disgr ace.

”

But he generously resolves to stand by his friend.

Kelley, it seems, had been met coming from Islingtonwith his scroll, book and powder , and had beenthr eatened to he pulled in pieces if he broughtthem to D ec. A drawing in the margin o f

'

the MS .

shows the book to have had a cross on the cover , oneclasp, and deep metal bands across its tw o sides.Presumably these were some o f the treasures reportedto have been found at Glastonbury.

A day o r tw o after , June 18 , Kelley again simulatedgreat fear and distress at seeing evil spir its. He

protested he would skry no more, and w as so excitedthat he brought on himself the wise rebuke fromGalvah : He that is angry cannot see well. ” He


said, thou wouldst go mad shortly. Whatever theycan do against thee, assur e thyself o f. They willshortly lay a bait fo r thee, but eschew them.

”

D . Lord have m ercy upon me, what bait, Ibeseech you, and by whom ?

M . They have determ ined to search thy house,but they stay until] the Duke be gone.

”

D . What would they search it fo r ?M . They hate the Duke, b oth , unto death.

Then with a sharp caution to Kelley to dealuprightly w ith D ee, and a protestation from him ofhis faithful m ind to his master , she goes on toreveal the suspicions attached to Laski

M Look unto the kind o f people about theDuke 111 the manner o f their diligence.

D . What mean you by that ? His ow n people ?O r whoM . The espies .D . Which be those ?M . All. There is no t one true.

D . You mean the Englishmen .

M . Yo u are very grosse if you understand no tmy say mgs.

”

D . Lord ! what is thy counsel to prevent all ?M . The speech is general. The wicked shall

no t prevail.D . But w ill they enter to search my house o r

no

M . Immediately after the Duke his going , theywill.”

D . TO what intent ? What do they hope tofind

M . They suspect the Duke is inwardly a

traitor.

MAD IMI 109

D ec replies with sincerity, They can by no meanscharge me, no not so much as with a traitorousthought.

”

M . Though thy thoughts be good, they cannot

compr ehend the do ing s of the w icked. In summe,

they hate thee. Trust them not. They shall goabout shortly to Offer thee friendship. But be thoua worm in a heap of straw.

D . I pray you expound that parable.

M. A heap o f straw being never so great, is noweight upon a worm . Notwithstanding every strawhindereth the worm ’s passage. See them and be no t

seen of them ; dost thou understand it ?”

It now seemed certain that D ee and his skryerwere to embark their fortunes with Laski. D ee

begs fo r particular instructions when they had bettertake ship, what shall be done with all the furniture

prepared and standing in the chamber Of practice ?

Is it best fo r the Pole to resort hither o ft, o r to stayquiet at his house in LondonMadimi retorts

Thou hast no faith. He is your friend greatlyand intendeth to do much fo r you . He is preparedto do thee good, and thou art prepared to do himservice. Those w ho are no t faithful shall die a mostmiserable death, and shall drink o f sleep everlasting.

”

A couple o f days after , on July 4, D ee returningfrom Court, found Kelley making preparation to goaway fo r five days , having fixed to meet some com

panions in Mortlake, others in Brentford. Doubtlesshe found all this mystical and angelic society some

what o f a bore, and w as yearning fo r an outburst alittle more to his taste. D ee, w ho had seen Laski in


London, knew that -he intended to come down toMortlake within a day o r tw o , who also, he says,“ delighted in E . K. his company.

”SO he wrote a

short note in very polite Latin to the N o bilissimi

Princeps,” bidding him put o ff his visit, as our

Edward w as about to take a journey, and wouldno t be home fo r five days, o r so he says : Quid sit

ip sa ver itas .

H e showed Kelley the letter . Kelley took greatOffence at these words, suspecting some secret understanding between the two again st him . D ee gentlyreferred to Kelley ’ s ow n words that his return mightbe within , o r at the end of, five days . Kelley, angryand suspicious, seized the letter and tore it up.

Soon after , Kelley beholds a spiritual creature byhis r ight shoulder , telling him to go clean away, fo rif he stays there he w ill be hanged. If he goes withthe Pr ince, he will cut o ff his head, and (to D ec)

Yo u m ean no t to keep promise with me. And

therefore if I m ight have a thousand pound to tarry,yea, a kingdom, I cannot. Therefore I release youOf your promise Of 50 pounds yearly stipend to me,and you need no t doubt but God will defend yo u and

prosper you, and can o f the very stones raise upchildren unto Abraham . And again , I cannot abidemy w ife, I love her not, nay, I abhor her , and herein the house I am misliked because I favour her nobetter .

D ee endeavoured to calm this turbulent youngman, spoke o f his confidence in him in his dealingswith their spiritual fr iends, but such doings and

sayings as these, he points out, are not meet and

fitting.

1 12 LIFE OF DR. JOHN DEE

out o f Kelley’s hand. D ee heard the strokes, he says .He took a paper and, greeting his visitor , noted theconversation .

D . Mistresse Madimi, you are welcome in Godfo r good, as I hope. What is the cause o f yourcoming now ?

M . To see how you do.

D . I know you see me often , but I see youonely by faith and imagination .

M . (w ho is alw ays mor e p er sonal than the other

sp ir its) That sight is perfecter than his, pointingto Kelley.

D . (w ith emotion ) O Madimi, shall I have anymore o f these grievous pangsM . (or acular ly) Cur st wives and great Devils

are sore companions .D . In respect o f the Lord Treasurer , Mr.

Secretary and Mr . Rawly, I pray you, What worldlycomfort 1s there to be looked fo r Besides that I doprincipally put my trust in God .

”

M . Madder w ill staine, wicked men will Offend,and are easie to be offended.

D . And being offended, will do wickedly, tothe persecution o f them that mean simply.

”

M . O r else they were no t to be called wicked.

D . As concerning Alb. Laski, his pedigree, yousaid your sister would tell all.M . I told yo u more then all your D og painters

and Cat painters can do.

Kelley interrupts Dee’s questions about Laski’spedigree and parentage, impatiently, with

K . Will you, Madimi, lend me a hundred poundsfo r a fortnight ?

1 No explanation o f this curious remark can be o ffered .

MAD IMI 113

M . I have swept all my money out “

o f doors.D . As fo r money, w e shall have that which is

necessary when God seeth time.

Then Madimi, becoming serious, addresses toKelley a beautiful exposition o f the unity Of allthings : Love is the spirit o f God uniting and

knitting things together in a laudable proportion .

She turns sharply to him , with

What dost thou hunt after ? Speak, man, whatdost thou hunt after ? Thou lovest no t God .

Lo, behold, thou breakest his commandments : thybragging words are confounded. If thou hastnone o f these [faith, hOpe, love] thou hast hate. Dostthou love Silver and Gold The one is a Thief ; theother is a Murderer . Wilt tho u seek honour ? SO

did Cain . But tho u hast a just God that loveththee , just and virtuous m en that delight in thee.

Therefore he thou virtuous .”

Next follows a remarkable scene. Madimi summons Barma and his fourteen evil companions, whohave assumed possession o f Kelley, with the wordsVenite Tenebr es fuglie sp ir ito meo , and ordersthem to return to the Prince of Darkness : Departunto the last cry . Go you thither . The handof the Lord is like a strong o ak . When it falleth itcutteth in sunder many bushes . The light Of H iseyes shall expel darkness .

”

Kelley sees the whole crew sink down through thefloor o f the chamber : A thing like a wind came

and pluckt them by the feet away.

”

He professeshis deliverance : Methinketh I am lighter than Iw as, and I seem to be empty and to be returned from

I


a great amazing . Fo r this fortnight, I do no t wellremember what I have done o r said .

”

Thou art eased o f a great bur den . Love God.

Love thy fr iends . Love thy w ife .

”

And with this parting injunction , and a psalm ofthanksgiving from D ec, the story o f Kelley’s wildattack Of temper , o r as it w as regarded in the

sixteenth century , his possession , fo r the presentends . N o r is there any record o f further dealingswith spirits fo r m ore than two months.


Worcestershire man— Kelley, fo r whom he entertained to the last a most faithful fr iendship.

Then w e come on a very entertaining remark inthe diary : Aug . 18 . A great tempest o f w ynde at

midnight. Mamima er a E . K . cum ua'ore ejus.

Kelley had returned, and his wife w as treated toanother o f his outbreaks, by comparison with whichthe gale outside w as slight.This is the last entry in the diary before Dee

’sdeparture fo r Poland with Laski.The Prince proposed to take the whole party fr omMortlake back with him to the Continent. He w as

reputed to be deeply in debt, and seems to haveentertained wild hopes that they, aided by the spirits,would provide him with gold, and secure to him thecrown o f Poland. Kelley foresaw an easy and

luxurious life, plenty o f change and variety suitedto his restless, impetuous nature. He had no t as

yet been out of England . There were very obviousreasons that he should quit the country now if hewould escape a pr ison . D ee had been a greattraveller , as w e know, and these were no t the attraetions to a man o f his years. H e went in obedienceto a supposed call, in the hOpe o f furthering his ow nknowledge and the Prince’s good. The notion o f

providing fo r him self and his family lay doubtless atthe back of his mind also, but he had all a genius’sdisregard fo r thrift and economy, and though veryprecise and practical about small details, as his diaryproves, his m ind refused to contemplate these largerconsiderations Of ways and means .He disposed of the house at Mortlake to his

A FOREIGN JOURNEY 1 17

brother-in-law ,Nicholas Fromond, but in such a

loose and casual w ay that before his return he foundhim self compelled to m ake a new agr eement w ithhim . He took no steps about appointing a receiverof the rents o f his two livings, and when he came

back the whole six year s were ow ing, no r did he everObtain the money. H e says he intended at the mostto be absent one year and eight months . It w as

more than six years before he again set foot inEngland.

So, unprepared, he leftMortlake about three in theafternoon o f Saturday, September 21 , 1583. He met

the Pr ince by appointment on the r iver , and travelledup after dark to London . A certain secrecy w as

observed about the journey. Laski, as w e have seen ,

w as under some suspicion of Walsingham and Bur

leigh, whose business it had become to learn newsfrom every Co urt in Europe. He w as suspected o f

plots against the King o f Poland.

In the dead o f night, D ee and Laski went bywherries to Greenw ich, to my friend Goodman

Fern , the Potter , his house, where w e refreshed ourselves. Probably a man whom D ee had employedto make retorts and other vessels fo r his chem icalwork. Perhaps they met there the rest o f the party,but on the who le it seem s more probable that allstarted together from Mortlake. The exit o f sucha company from the riverside ho use must have beenquite an event. At Gravesend, a “great Tylte-boatrowed up to Fern ’s house, on the quay, and tookthem out to the tw o vessels arranged to convey themabroad. These ships , which D ee had hired, were lying


seven o r eight miles down stream —a Danish doublefly

-boat, in which Laski, D ee, Kelley, Mrs . D ee and

Mrs. Kelley and the three children , Arthur , Kather ineand Rowland D ee, embarked at sunr ise on Sundaymorning ; and a boyer , a pretty ship, which conveyed the Prince

’s men , some servants o f D ee, and a

couple o f hor ses . They sailed at once, but the w indcoming from N .W . , they anchored on the Spits. The

fly-boat dragged her anchor , and the wind suddenlychanging to N .E . , they were in danger Of grounding.

However , next morning they made QueenboroughHaven, and landed in small fishing boats . On the

landing , the boat in which the party were seatedw as nearly upset. Water came in up to their knees,an o ar w as lost, and they were in considerableperil, but Kelley seems to have risen to the occasionby baling water out o f the bottom with a greatgauntlet. D ee think s he saved their lives . D ee,

poor man , w as dropped from the captain ’s back on

landing into ooze and mud, so that he w as foulearrayed on reaching Queenborough town , up the

crooked creek. God be praised fo r ever that allthat danger w as ended with so small grief o r hurt,

” ishis cheerful comment.After three nights ashore, they again embarked,

and at daybreak on the 27th sailed out into theChannel. On the 29th they landed at Brill . HereLaski’ s guardian angel, Jubanladec, seem s to have

granted them an interview. They only paused fo rtw o o r three days, and hurried on, travelling forwardeach day by the sluggish Dutch canals, having exchanged their vessel fo r a boy o f Amsterdam at


Next morning, the 18th October , Laski took up hisquarters at The White Swan , on the quay, fo r hew as to remain there to see the Landgrave, and obtainmoney. The others “ lay at The Three GoldenKeys ,

’ by the English House, and left early nextmorning by a small boat to sail up the river Ems toLeer , and thence by a little tributary to StickhuysenandApen— “

a very simple village, and SO on to Oldenburg. A night there, and then on by Delmenhorstto Bremen ,

where they lodged at an Old widow, her

house, at the Signe o f the Crow n .

Here I], the jaunty Spir it who w as like a Vice ina morality play, again appeared to them , clad in a

white satin jerkin , ragged below the girdle. The

curtain lifted, and his first words were theatricallylight.

Room fo r a player ! Jesus ! who would havethought I should have met you here ? ”

D . (solemnly ). By the m ercies o f Go d w e are

here. And by your will and propriety and the powero f God, you are here.

”

IL . Tush, doubt no t o f me, fo r I am I].KELLEY (w ith r ebuke) . My thinketh that thegravity o f this action requireth a more grave gesture,and more grave speeches. ”

IL . If I must bear with thee fo r Speakingfoolishly, which art but flesh and speakest o f thyow n wisdom , how much more oughtest thou to becontented with my gesture, which is appointed o f

H im which regardeth no t the outward form , but thefulfilling of His will and the keeping o f His commandments, etc. , etc.

KELLEY.—“Ido no t understand your words . I do

only repeat your sayings.”

A FOREIGN JOURNEY 121

IL . It is the part o f a servant to do his duty,Of him that watcheth to look that he seethDo that which is appointed, fo r he that doeth moreis no t a true servant.11 turns from Kelley to D ec. Sir , here is money,but I have it very hardly. Bear with me, fo r I can

help thee w ith no more. Come on, Andras ; whereare you, Andras ? he calls.Andras in a bare and shabby gow n , like a London

’prentice, appears, but empty-handed.

IL . This is one of those that forgetteth hisbusinesse so soon as it is told him .

ANDRAS. Sir , I went half-w ay .

IL . And how then ? Speak o n. Speak on .

”

ANDRAS . Then , being somewhat weary, I stayed,the rather because I met my fr iends . The third day ,

I cam e thither , but I found them not at home. Hisfamily told me he had gone forth.

”

IL . And you returned a co xcomb. Well, thusit is . I placed thee above my servants, and did

what I could to promote thee. But I am rewardedwith loytring and have brought up an idle person .

Go thy w ay, the o fficer Shall deliver thee to pr ison ,

and there thou shalt b e rewarded. Fo r such as do

that they are comm anded deserve freedom ; but un tothose that loytre and are idle, vengeance and hungerbelongeth.

Then D ee questions I] about Laski, and whetherhe is having any success in his efforts to obtain money,about Laski ’s brother -in-law , Vincent Seve, whoseerrand in England is no t yet completed, and whetherthey shall all arrive safe at Cracow, o r the placeappointed.

Kelley has a sight of Master Vincent in a blacksatin doublet, cut w ith cross cuts,

”

a ruff and a long


cloak, edged with black o r blue. Then 11goes Off intoa mystical rhapsody

, at the end o f which he suddenlyfalls all in pieces as small as ashes .”

Next day , Kelley sees Master Vincent again , walkingdown by Char ing Cross, accompanied by

“a tallman

w ith a cutberd, a sword and Skie-colored cloak.

”He

passes on towards Westm inster and overtakes a

gentleman on horseback with five followers in shortcape-cloaks and long moustaches . The r ider is a leanvisaged man in a short cloak and with a gold rapier .

His horse wears a velvet foot cloth . (It sounds likea vision o f Raleigh . )They are merry. Vincent laughs heartily and

shows tw o broad front teeth . H e has a little Stickin his crooked fingers . The scar on his left hand is

plainly seen. H e has very -high straight close boots.They arr ive at Westm inster Church (the Abbey).Many people are coming o ut. A number o f boatslie in the river , and in the gardens at Whitehall aman is grafting fruit trees. The lean-visaged m an on

horseback alights, and goes down towards, and up,the steps o f Westminster Hall, Vincent with him .

His companion walks outside and accosts a waterman . The waterman asks if that is the Polishbishop ? The servant wants to know what businessit is o f his. A messenger comes down the steps ofthe Hall and says to Vincent’s man that his mastershall be despatched to-morrow. The servant saith heis glad o f it. Then all that shew is vanished away.

There are one o r tw o allusions here to an em issaryfrom Denmark w ho has brought a bag Of amber . I] alsosays he has much business in Denmark. Frederick,

CHAPTER X

PROM ISE S AND VISION S

Search while thou wilt ; and let thy reas on go

To ransom truth, e’

en to th’abyss below ;

Ra lly the scattered causes and that lineWhich nature twists b e able to untwine .

It is thy Maker’s will fo r unto none

But unto reason can H e e’er b e known.

—Sm THOMAS BROWNE.

THE dealings which Kelley had in Lubeckwith thespirits seem to throw a light on all his relations withD ee. Kelley is gaining confidence ; he sees that he isalready able to dupe his employer considerably. He

has only to manipulate the conversations a little toShow up Often his so—called sincerity. He can pretendhe is aghast at Il

’s levity, and he seems to have beencunning enough when the spir its very often blamed

But his dreams o f advancement in wealth and famewere no nearer accomplishment. H e had seen

through Dee’s ambition . It w as very different fromhis own , but he thought he could use it to his ow nadvantage. D ee w as now flattered without stint.SO at the sitting on November 15 he sees eleven

noblemen in r ich sables . O ne, wearing a regal captrimmed with sable, is seated on a chair beset withprecious stones. H e is a goodlier man than the LordA. L .

”He addresses D ee w ith glittering promises.

PROMISES AND VISIONS 125

He is the King o r the Emperor , and is represented inthemargin o f the diary by a crown . H e says to D ec

Pluck up thy heart and be merry, pine no t thySoul away with inward groanings, fo r I will Openunto thee the secrets o f Nature and the r iches o f theworld, and withal give thee such direction that shalldeliver thee from many infirmities both o f body andmind, ease thee o f thy tedious labours and settle theewhere thou shalt have comfort.Thanks be given unto the Highest now and ever .

Why dost tho u [hesitate] within thy thought ?Hast thou no t need o f comfort ? ”

Yes, Go d knows , fo r I am half confounded.

Then fir st determine w ithin thyself to rest thee fo rthis winter . Secondly, open thy m ind to desir e suchthings as may advance thy credit and enr ich thyfamily, reap unto thee m any friends and lift thee up tohonour . Fo r I will stir up the mindes o f learned men ,

the profoundest in the wo rld, that they shall visitthee. And I will disclose unto you such things asshall be wonderful and o f exceeding profit. Mo reoverI will put to my hands and help your proceedings,that the world may talk of your wisdom hereafter .

Therefore wander no t farther into unknown placescontagious, the very seats of death fo r thee and thychildren and such as are thy friends . If thou enquir eof me where and how, I answer , everywhere , o r howthou wilt. Thou shalt forthwith become rich, and

thou shalt be able to enrich kings and help such as

are needy. Wast thou no t bo rn to use the com

modity o f this world ? were no t all things made fo rman

’s use

Here are the old dream s o f the philosopher’s stone,

the elixir o f life, the transmutation of metals and all

the wo rks of alchemy, fo r which both these travellers


were adventuring their lives in a foreign land. Dee

does no t seem exactly dazzled by these allurements.He only begs leave to ask questions, and seeks tokeep the Speaker to the point. Are they to staythere and no t to go on w ith Laski ? Where are theyto spend the winter ?

”

Where you will, comes the answer . Are youso unwise as to go with him now ? Let him gobefore, and provide fo r him self and the better fo r you.

In the Summer , when it is m ore fair , you can follow.

The weather now will be hard and the travel unfitfo r children. Heap no t up thy w ife

’s sorrow.

”

I desire to live in quiet that my spirit may thebetter attend to the service o f Go d.

Well, you are contented ?

D ee asks again, are they to part from Laski ? Willit no t be prejudicial to their arrangement, theyhaving entered into a kind o f covenant with him ?Are you no t content ? ” the visitor repeats.Then he did impart some remarkable informationto D ee, in which there w as certainly a grain oftelepathically conveyed truth.

Your brother is clapped up in prison. H ow likeyou that ? Your house-keeper I mean .

”

This evidently refers to Nicholas Fromond.

They examine him. They say that thou hast hiddivers secret things. As fo r thy books, thou maystgo look at them at leasure. It may be that thyhouse may be burnt fo r a remembrance o f thee, too.Well, if they do , so it is . I have given thee mycounsel, and desired to do thee good. The choice isthine.

”


letters to Laski, and waits. Soon he perceives thesetemptations to have come from “

a very foolish devil.

He decides that they will continue to throw in theirlot w ith Lask i. who rejoined them in L iibeck . He

left again to visit the Duke o f Mecklenburg, theymeanwhile going by Wismar to Rostock and Stettin,

which place they reached at ten o’clock on Christmas

morning. Lask i joined them in a fortnight. Theypassed on by Stayard to Posen , where D ee adds anantiquar ian note that the cathedral church w as

founded in 1025 , and that the tomb o fWenceslaus,the Chr istian king, is o f o ne huge stone. It w ashere that D ee began to enter cur ious notes aboutKelley in the L iber Per eg rinatz

'

om'

s, wr itten in Greekcharacters, but the words are Latin words, o r morefrequently English. The supposition is that Kelleyw as unacquainted even with the Greek alphabet. Dee

kept his other foreign diary, wr itten in an Epheme

r ides Caelestz'

um (printed in Venice, secret fromhis partner , fo r Kelley had obtained possession of anearlier one kept in England and had written in itunfavourable comments, as well as erased things, abouthimself. D ee had the last word, and has added aboveKelley’s shameful lye,

” This is Mr . Talbot’s, hisow n wr iting in my boke, very unduely as he came byit.” The various diaries sound, perhaps, confusing tothe reader , but are really quite simple. By the

private diary is meant the scraps in the BodleianAlmanacs, edited by Halliwell fo r the Camden Society,in which he seldom alludes to psychic affairs. The

B ook of Myster ies is the diary in which he relates allthe history o f the crystal gazing. The printed version

PROMISES AND VISIONS 129

(True Relation) begins with Laski’s visit to Mortlake

on May 28 , 1583.

Winter had now set in with unwonted rigour , andone is amazed at the celerity with which this greatcaravanserai o f people and goods pushed on fromplace to place. From Stettin to Posen, fo r instance, ismore than 200 miles, and it w as accomplished withinfour days and apparently with only one stop. Thensouthwards into the watery district between the Oderand theWarthe, where the country w as so iceboundthat they had to employ five-and-twenty men to cut

the ice fo r their coaches fo r a distance as long as twoEnglish miles. On February 3 they reached Lask,on the Prince ’s ow n property, and at last were comfortably housed in the Provost’s fair house by theChurch. Here D ee w as ill with ague, but the tablew as set up, and a new spirit called N alvage appearedin the globe. N alvage

’

s physiognomy w as likethe picture o f King Edward the Sixth. His hairhangeth down a quarter of the length of the cap,

somewhat curling, yellow.

”D ee, o f course, had seen

the young Kingw hen he presented his books, so this isa first-hand rem iniscence. Nalvage stood upon a roundtable of mother-of-pearl, and revealed to them manycabalistic mysteries, tables o f letters and names .There w as a terrible vision o f Mrs. D ee lying dead,w ith her face all battered in , and of the m aid Marybeing pulled o ut of a pool of water half drowned .

But it seem s to portend no more than did anotherpiece o f ill news conveyed at the same time : Sir

Harry Sidney died upon Wednesday last. A privyenemy of yours .” D ee says, I ever took him fo r

K


one o f my chief friends, and adds, with unconscioushumour

Note. At Prague, Aug. 24, I understood thatSir H . Sidney w as no t dead in February no r March,no , no t in May last. Therefore this must be con

sidered. Doctor H agek , his son, to ld me.

The note makes us realise fo r a moment how slowlynews travelled from England to the Continent in thisyear o f grace 1584.

The informant, Madimi, a little wench in white,told D ee that she had been in England at his house,and all there were well. The Queen said she w as

sorry she had lost her philosopher . But the LordTreasurer answered, H e will come home shortly abegging to you. Truly,

”

adds Madimi, none can

turn the Queen ’s heart from you . Then, recurringto Mortlake, she says I could no t come into yourstudy. The Queen hath caused it to be sealed.

” Thisno doubt after the breaking in o f the rioters . Dee

w as counselled to go and live at Cracow. He

would lik e to be led step by step, and begs to knowwhat house is in God’s determination fo r me and

mine. Madimi answers, As wise as I am , I cannot

yet tell what to say .

”D ee demurs to the expense,

and reproaches her fo r no t telling them sooner .

Needless cost would have been saved, and he doesno t know if Laski will have enough money fo r yetanother move. H e had rather Kesmark had beenredeemed before Lask i went to Cracow. Perhapsthen his credit with the people would be greater .

Laski had heavilymortgaged his estates in Poland

CHAPTER XI

CRACOW

Sir, to a wise man all the wo rld’s his so ilIt is no t Ita ly, no r France, no r EuropeThat must bound m e if my fates call me fo rth.

Yet, I protest it is no salt desireO f seeing countries , shifting a religionN o r any disafl

’

ection to the State

Where I w as bred, and unto which I ow eMy dearest plots , hath brought me out : much lessThat idle, antique, stale , grey-headed pro jectO f knowing men

’s minds and manners.

”

-J ONS0N , Volp one, or The Fox.

AT the close o f the sixteenth century, Cracow w as

at the height of its fame and prosperity. It w as stillthe capital o f Poland, and the residence of her kings,as well as the seat o f the university founded twohundred years before by Casimir the Great. The

Gothic cathedral erected under the same king, thebur ial place of Polish monarchs, w as already adornedwith sculptures and bronzes , the work of Renaissanceartists from Florence and Siena. The visitor ofto -day will find him self surrounded by chur ches andother buildings dating from the twelfth, fourteenth,and sixteenth centuries. Amid the ramparts o f theAustrian fortress can still be traced here and therethe older fortifications.The city lies in the centre o f a vast plain, almost

CRACOW 133

at the confluence o f tw o rivers , -the Vistula and

Rudow a. Across this plain from the no rth-west thetravellers came, and reached Cracow in the afternoonof March 13, 1584.

We were lodged in the suburbs by the church, 1

where w e remained a seven night, and then w e (I andmy wife) removed to the house in St. Stephen Street,which I had hired fo r a year fo r 80 gylders of 30

groschen. And Master Edward Kelley came to uson Fryday in the Easter week by the new GregorianKalendar , being the 27 day o f March by the oldKalendar , but the sixth day of April by the new

Kalendar , Easter D ay being the first day o fApr il inPoland, by the new Gregorian institution .

”

From the time of arriving in Poland D ee is carefulto enter the dates in both o ld and new styles. The

New Style w as then extremely new , it having beenintroduced by Pepe Gregory XIII . only a couple o f

years before, and universally adopted by all Roman

Catholic countries. England, in all the fervo ur o f

her recently established Protestantism , would havenone o f it, but still desired no t to lag behind inneedful reforms . D ee, as already stated, had beencommissioned before he left England to make caleulations by which the calendar could be suitablyadopted in this country. The Roman Church hadassumed the chronology adopted by the Council ofNice to be strictly correct. But D ee desired toascertain the actual position of the earth in relationto the sun at the birth o f Christ, as a basis on which

1 Probably the old Church of the Visitation .


to rectify the calendar . The result of his calculationswould have omitted eleven instead of ten days.Dee’s book (which w as never printed, but remains

in manuscript among the Ashmolean MSS. ) w as

entitled A Playne disco ur se and humble advise fo rour gratious Queene Elizabeth, her most ExcellentMajestic , to peruse and consider as concerning the

needful Reformation o f the Vulgar Kalendar fo rthe civile yeres and daies accompting o r verifying,according to the tyme truely spent.

” It w as finishedand delivered to Burleigh o n February 26 , 1583. To

him it w as inscribed with these rather playful verses

To (in ,and To

I shew the thing and reason why,At large, in briefe, in middle wiseI humbly give a playne adviseFor want o f tyme, the tyme untrew

If Ihave myst, command anewYour honour may, so shall you see

That lo ve o f truth do th go vern me.

Bur leigh proposed that skilful men in science, asMr . Digges, be called from the universities to perusethe wo rk and confer .

1 But the Council of State consulted Archbishop Grindal and three of the bishops,w ho recommended the rejection o f Dee’s scheme,chiefly on the ground that it emanated from Rome,and so their opposition delayed this desirable publicreform in England fo r 170 years. D ee agreed togrant the ten days fo r the sake o f conformity with therest o f the world, if his calculation that eleven werestrictly accurate w as publicly announced. It w ill

La/nsdowne MS ., xxxix. f. 28.


tables o f letters on which he had long been puzzling ;dwelt on how essentia l it w as to m iss no t a single

letter , o r else the words would err . H e asked him , in

fact, to resume his skrying, and encouraged him bysaying that he knew he would come to like betterthis due and methodical manner o f o ur fr iends

’

pro

ceeding, if only he would continue. Kelley scornfully replied that their teachers were mere deluders,and no good o r suffi cient teachers . In tw o years theyhad no t m ade them able to understand, o r do any

thing . In tw o years, he said, boastingly, I couldhave learned all the seven liberal arts and sciences, ifI had fir st learned Logick H e protested he wouldhave no more to do with the spirits in any manner

o r w ay, wished him self in England, and vowed if thebooks were his he would burn them all. Thesespir itual creatures are no t bound to me . Take Johnfo r your skryer .

D ee pathetically recapitulated his long desire fo rwisdom , his faith that more knowledge will be

granted him . Kelley went o ut leaving D ee buriedin prayer .

In tw o days, Kelley w as again submissive to thespir its, w ho bade him no t m istrust. Let him thatis a servant and is commanded to go, go . And let

no t the earth rise up and strive against the plowman.

So they go on again with their cabalistic letters andsigns. In the beginn ing ofMay, D ee notes : “ E . K.

is very well persuaded o f these actions now ,thanked

be the Highest.”

Later in the month he says : There happened a

great storm o r temptation to E . K . o f doubting and

CRACOW 137

mistaking our instructors and their doings, and of

contemning and condemning anything that I knew o r

could do. I bare all things patiently fo r God hissake.

” Kelley at the same time says : I am contentedto see and to make true report o f what they willshow, but my heart standeth against them.

That night after the sitting, he again swore hewould no t go on skrying. The m orning after , Dee

knocked at his study door , and bade him come, fo rNalvage had left o ff the previous day in the middleof an interesting geographical lesson about unknownparts of the earth, and had told them to be ready tocontinue it next morning. Kelley w as obdurate, andDee retired to prayer . In half an hour , the skryerburst in with a volume of Cornelius Agr ippa

’s in hishand, where he said all the countries they were toldabout yesterday were described and written dow n.

What is the use,”he said, “ in going on with this

farce, if they tell us nothing new ? Dee replied thathe w as glad to see Kelley had such a book of his own ;that Nalvage in giving those ninety-one new names o fcountr ies, all of seven letters, w as answering his particular request ; that he had verified the lands in thecharts of Gerardus Mercator and Pomponius Mela,which he had at hand and produced, and now ,

”

he said triumphantly, w e know exactly what angelsgovern which countries, in case w e are ever called topractise there.

”Nalvage had described the natives

of the countries and the products, suggesting that inGreenland a vein o f gold m ight be found. Yourwilful phantasie,

”D ee ended to Kelley, perverts your

reason ; andwhereas you find fault with our instructors,


I , who much more narrow ly peruse their words , knowthat they give direct answers to my questions, exceptindeed when you misreport them, o r I make a m istakein hearing o r wr iting. So three days were lost, asD ee bemoans in the margin, and then Kelley w as

again induced to resume his skrying .

O n the 25th ,Laski arr ived and left again fo r

Kesmark .

1 H e now intended to redeem his propertythere. But King Stephan and his Chancellor wereboth set against him , and he wished D ee to go withhim to the Emperor o f Austria, Rudolph II .Instructions were no w given that they must be

ready to go with Laski to the Emperor , must makethem selves apt and meet, fo r until no remembranceo f wickedness is left among them they cannot fo rward the Lord’s expeditions . Gabriel tells Kelley atsome length o f his many faults. D ee did not hearthis, but considerately does no t ask fo r a repetitionof the catalogue. H e only bids Kelley listen well.Gabr iel says if any will be God

’s minister , he mustsweep his house clean, without spot. H e must notlet his life be a scandal to the will o f the Lord.

God finds thee, as he passes by in his Angel, fitin matter , but, my brother , God knows, far unfit inlife. 0 consider the Dignity o f thy creation . See

how God beareth with thy infirmity from time totime. Consider how thou art now at a Turningwhere there lieth

,two w ayes . O ne shall be to thy

comfort, the other to perpetual w o e.

”

One o f the o ldest towns in Hungary, a royal free town since

1380 . It lies in the valley of the Popper , within reach o f the

m agnificent scenery o f the Hohe Tatra, a group of the CentralCarpathian Mountains .


him with beggary—a thing, adds D ee, that he m osthated and feared. Therefore, till this time he hadbeen a hypocrite. Now , in his new -found elation, he

cares no t fo r poverty ; life eternal is more than richesand wealth. He that can b e hired with money toforsake the devil is no Christian . H e w ill doubt nomore, but believe. D ee adds that he omits manyothers of his godly sayings , thinking these sufficientto w rite down . H e had no suspicion of any ill faith.

His love fo r Kelley w as truly unbounded in its longsuffering. He offered a fervent thank sgiving for theconver sion, and fo r Satan

’s defeat, and prayed fo r themboth fo r continual zeal, love o f truth, pur ity of life,charitable humility and constant patience to the end.

”

The same atmosphere continued next day, June 11.

Kelley protests he could sit fo r seven years awaiting avision . They do wait nearly four hours. EvidentlyKelley converted is

'

not going to be so good amediumas Kelley unregenerate. D ee explains the non-appearance as retribution fo r the three days wasted before.

But they are allrather depressed, especially the Prince.Then a Vision appear s o f the castle o f Grodno,

in Littau,1 where the King o f Poland then w as.

Stephan’

s arms are seen over the gate. Aman like anItalian is beheld, carrying an iron chest within whichare an image in black w ax , a dead hand, and so on.

The promise is that Laski shall be King o f Poland.

Early next morning Kelley, lying awake in bed, hada vision which he o r D ee afterwards embodied in thecurious diagram facing p . 141 .

It may be taken as a sample o f the kind o f intricate1 In East Bohemia, on the river March, not far fromAusterlitz.

CRACOW 141

complications o f theurgy which often absorbed thepair fo r days together .

The vision w as expounded by Ave, something inthe follow ing manner

A VISION .

East and West, North and South, stand foursumptuous and belligerent Castles , out o f whichsound Trumpets thrice. From every Castle, a Cloth,the sign o f Majesty, is cast. In the East it is red,like new -sm itten blood. In the South, lily-white.

In the West, green, garlick-bladed like the skins o fmany dragons. In the North, hair-coloured, blacklike bilberry juice. Four trumpeters issue from the

Castles, with trumpets pyramidal, o f six cones,wreathed. Three Ensign bearers, with the names o fGod on their banners, follow them . Seniors , Kings,Princes as train bearer s, Angels in four phalanxes likecrosses, all in their order , march to the central Court,and range themselves about the ensigns .

I'r VAN ISHETH.

The dazzling, shifting formation seems to proceed ina glorious pageant Of colour , and then to rest, frozeninto a minutely exact phantasticon o f harmony.

Now fo r the meaning Of the allegory. The Castlesare Watch towers provided against the Devil, theWatchman in each is a mighty angel. The ensignspublish the redemption o f mankin d. The Angels ofthe Aires , which come out o f the Crosses, are tosubvert whole countr ies, w ithout armies, in this w ar

waged against the Powers o f Darkness .

Many weeks were taken up with tables o f lettersfo r the exposition o f this vision, and with explainingthe names o f these gates, angels , seniors , etc.


Kelley is again sometimes very much tempted todoubt the good faith o f the angelic visitants, moreespecially as he sadly fears that good angels will no tprovide them with the needful money that the Pr incerequires fo r the success o f his cause. One day , D ee

wrote in his diary : E . K . had the Megrom sore.

”

Kelley read this, and A great temptation fell on

E . K . ,upon E. K . taking these words to be a scoff,

which were words o f compassion and friendship.

’

After this D ee resorts more frequently to the use ofhis Greek characters .The Dees were still living near the church Of St.Stephen , where Kelley w as a frequent Visitor . Laskilodged w ith the Franciscans in their convent. l The

revelations were now!

o f tables o f letters again,

intended, D ee thinks, that they may learn the nameso f angels and distinguish the bad from the good.

(The bad angels’ names are said to be all of threeletters . ) H e hopes Ave is about to reveal the healing medicines ; the property o f fire ; the knowledge,finding , and use o f metals the Virtues Of stones, andthe understanding Of arts mechanical. But Ave saysit is the wicked spirits who give money coined,although there are good angels who can find metals,gather them and use them . Then Madimi appears,after a long absence, and addressing D ee as mygentle brother , tells him that Ave is a good creatureand they m ight have made more of him . She wantsto know why they have no t gone to the EmperorRudolph. The Old excuse o f poverty is pleaded.

1 The refecto ry o f this convent is no w used as a technical andindustrial museum .

S Oral-”N

THE VIS IO N OF THE FOUR CASTLES.

(See a.

CRACOW 143

That evening, June 26 , at seven o’clock, D ee sat in

his study consider ing the day’s action, when Kelleyentered and asked if he understood it. He, it seems,had burst out again , had raged and abused Michaeland Gabriel, called Ave a devil, made horr iblespeeches.” There had been a most terrible storm o f

thunder and rain , and Kelley always appeared sensitiveto these electric disturbances. N ow he is penitentonce more, acknowledges his words were no t

decent,”and begs forgiveness o f God and D ee. The

talk lasted long, and several calls to supper wereunheeded ; then , just as they were leaving the room ,

Kelley felt somethingwarm and heavy on his shoulder ,and behold ! it w as Ave come to acknowledge hisrepentance. D ee hands him his Psalter book, and

with three prayers devoutly said, all is smooth again ,

and they go down to supper .

Dee’s patience and hum ility seemed unending. In

conversing with the spirits he is always, as it were,face to face with God . His replies are made directto theMajesty o f the Divine. When Kelley is blamedhe assumes equal blame.

AVE . Which o f you have sought the Lord fo rthe Lord his sakeD . That God can judge. W e vaunt nothing o f

our doings , no r challenge anything by the perfectiono f our doings . W e challenge nothing, Lord, uponany merits, but fly unto thy mercy, and that w e craveand call fo r . Curiosity is far from o ur intents.

CHAPTER XII

FROM CRACOW TO PRAGUE

Since all men from their birth employ sense prio r to intellect,and are necessarily first conversant with sensible things some,

pro ceeding no farther , pass through life considering these as firstand last ; and apprehending what is painful to b e evil, what ispleasant go o d, they deem it sufficient to shun the one and pursue

the o ther . Some pretending to greater reason than the rest, esteem

this wisdom like earth-bound birds, though they have wings theyare unable to fly. The secret souls of o thers would recall them from

pleasure to wo rthier pursuits, but they canno t so ar : they cho o se thelower w ay , and strive in vain . Thirdly, there are tho se—divinemen

—who se eyes pierce through clouds and darkness to the supernalvision ,

where they abide as in their ow n lawful country.—PLO '

r 1NUS.

ALL this time, D ee is so absolutely absorbed withhis spir itual visions that w e know very little abouthis outer existence. Fo r three years after he leftEngland, he neglected to enter anything in his

ordinary diary, and the L iber Mysticus containsnothing Of everyday affairs .In this July, 1584, however , at Cracow, he does

enter an important piece o f information about his boyRo wland, the baby then about a year and a half Old.

1584. Remember that on Saturday the fourteenthday o f July by the Gregorian Calendar , and the

fourth day of July by the o ld Calendar , R ow landemy childe (w ho w as born Anno 1583, January 28by the old calendar ) w as extreamely sick about noono r mid-day , and by one o f the clock w as ready to give


founded by Charles IV. in 1383, in whose hall JohnHuss a hundred and fifty years before had held hisdisputations. When D ee and his party arrived in thecity Tycho Brahe w as still alive, though not yet a resident in Prague. Prague w as the city Of alchemists.

The sombre, melancholy Emperor him self relieved hismore serious studies by experiments in alchemies andphysics. A mania fo r collecting rare and valuableObjects provided him with a still lighter pastime.

He painted, read much, and worked in iron, w as a

good linguist, and a regular dilettante. Unmarried,and with all the weaknesses o f the Habsburghs, for

nearly thirty years out o f his long life and far too

protracted reign he w as quite mad. No t many yearsafter his reception Of D ee he ceased to make anypretence Of public appearance.

The excellent little study o r stove (from stube,German fo r study) in D r . Ha

‘

geck’

s house had beensince 15 18 the abode o f some student Of alchemy,skilful Of the holy stone. The name Of the alchemist,Simon,

”w as wr itten up in letters of gold and silver

in several places in the room. Dee’s eyes also fell .daily on many cabalistic hieroglyphs, as well as on

drawings o r carvings Of birds, fishes, flowers, fruits,leaves and six vessels, all the work, he presumed, ofSimon baccalaureus Pr ag ensis. Over the door werethe lines

Immortale Decus par glo riaque illi debenturCujus ab ingenio est discolor hic paries,

”

and on the south wall of the study w as a long quotation from some philosophical work ending w ith

FROM CRACOW TO PRAGUE 147

Ars nostra est Ludus puerO cum labor mulierum .

Scito te omnes filii artis hujus, quod nemo potestco lligere fructus nostri Elixiris, nisi per intro itumnostri lapidis Elementati, et si aliam viam queerit,viam nunquam intrabit nec attinget. Rubigo est

Opus, quod sit ex solo auro, dum intraverit in suamhumiditatem .

In these congenial surroundings skrying w as at

once resumed. Madimi (now gr own into a woman )w as the fir st visitor , and D ee hastened to inquire fo rhis wife and children at Cracow. H e notes that hisfir st letter from her arr ived on the 21st. She joinedhim before long. He w as told to write to the

Emperor Rudolph. H e did so on August 17 and he

relates in the epistle the favourable attention he has

received from Charles V. and his brother Ferdinand,Rudolph ’s father , the Emperor Maximilian II w ho

accepted the dedication Of his book M onas H ier o

glyphica , and others Of the imperial house. He signsthe letter , Humillimus et fidelissimus clientulus

Joannes D ee.

After waiting a week he sent the letter by Laski’ssecretary to the Spanish ambassador , D on Guglielmode Sancto Clemente, w ho w as to present it toRudolph. With it he also sent a copy o f his M onas .

The same night he heard by Emerich Sontag, thesecretary, that the Emperor had graciously acceptedthe book, and within three o r four days wouldappoint a time fo r giving him audience.

He received letters from England on August 27 ,which were dated April 15 and 16 . His brother-inlaw , Nicholas Fromond, told him that Mr . Gilbert,

L 2


Mr . Sled, and his bookseller had used him very ill.

Doubtless he w as expecting some money from the

sale Of his books . Mrs. D ee w as much upset at her

brother ’s defections, and poor D ee w as worr ied all

round, fo r , as he writes in the m argin o f his diary,Satan is very busy with E . K. about this time.

”

Kelley seem s to have been making friends with youngSimon Hageck , son o f our host, as D ee calls him .

To furnish his o w n study he had bought a clock Of

Mrs . H ageck fo r five ducats, which w as so good a

bargain that she requested a quart o f wine (pro

bably a quarter hogshead) throw n in. She herselfdoes no t seem to have benefited much by the largess,fo r Kelley and Lask i ’s man Alexander proceeded to

get drunk on it, and fell to fighting and quarrelling.

D ee, w ho had stayed w r iting in his study instead o f

going to supper , w as warned by the city watchman tokeep better peace in his house. Looking from his

window to account fo r the caution, he saw Laski’sman sitting o n a great stone, and called him to comein. When he had heard the tale he went o ff toH ageck

’

s to understand the very truth,”and there

found Kelley lying in a drunken sleep on a form.

This w as a relief. He w as better pleased to thinkthat angry words had been spoken when wine, notw it, had rule,

”and persuaded Laski ’s man to stay

in his lodgings that night instead o f raging forthinto the street. Alr eady a scandal had been madewhich he foresaw would do him much harm. Nextmorning Kelley had a madder fit than ever .

Much ado . Emer ich and his brother (ThomasKelley) and I had to stop o r hold him from going on


Emericus to the Lord Chamberlain , Octavius Spinola,to announ ce his com ing.

Spinola came to me very courteously and led me

by the skirt Of the gown , through the dining chamberto the Privie chamber , where the Emperor sat at a

table, w ith a great chest and standish Of silver beforehim , and my M onad and Letters by him .

Rudolph thanked D ee politely fo r the book (whichw as dedicated to his father ), adding that it w as toohard fo r his capacity to understand ; but he encouragedthe English philosopher to say o n all that w as in his

mind . D ee recounted his life history at some length,and told how fo r forty years he had sought, w ithoutfinding, true wisdom in books and men ; how Godhad sent him His Light, Uriel, who fo r two yearsand a half, with other spirits, had taught him , had

finished his books fo r him, and had brought him a

stone Of m ore value than any earthly kingdom. Thisangelic friend had given him a message to deliver toRudolph. He w as to bid him forsake his sins and turnto the Lord . D ee w as to show him the Holy Vision.

This my comm ission is from God. I feignnothing, neither am I a hypocrite, an ambitious man,

o r doting o r dreaming in this cause. If I speakotherwise than I have just cause, I forsake mysalvation , said he.

Rudolph w as probably very much bored by thismystical rhapsody. H e excused him self from seeingthe vision at this time, and said he would hear morelater . He promised friendship and patronage, and

D ee, w ho says he had told almost more than he

intended o f his purposes, to the intent they might


get some root o r better stick in his minde, w as fainto take his leave. In a few days he w as informed,through the Spanish ambassador , that one DoctorCurtius, Of the Privy Council, a w ise, learned, andfaithful councillor ,” w as to be sent to listen to him on

the Emperor ’s behalf. Uriel, whose head had beenbound o f late in a black silk mourning scarf becauseof Kelley’s m isdoings , now reappeared in a wheel offire, and announced favour to Rudolph .

If he live righteously and follow me truly, I w illhold up his house w ith pillars Of hiacinth, and his

chambers shall be full o f modesty and comfort. Iwill bring the East wind over him as a Lady ofComfort, and she shall sit upon his castles withTriumph, and she shall sleep w ith joy .

To D ee, he says , has been given “ the spirit ofchoice. Dee petitions that his understanding Of thatdark saying may be Opened :

“Dwell thou in me, OLord, fo r I am frail and without thee very blind.

”

The conference between D ee and Curtius on

September 15 lasted fo r six hours. It took place at

the Austrian ’s house, whither D ee w as permitted, itseems, to take the magic stone and the books of thedealings. D ee in all good faith prom ised that manyexcellent things should happen to Rudolph, if onlyhewould listen to the voice o fUriel. Dee’s sincerity,credulous though it appears, w as as yet unshaken .

He lived in a transcendental atmosphere, and

trembled, as he believed, on the br ink o f a greatrevelation . The v ery heavens seemed Opening tohim , and soon , he thought, he would probe knowledgeto its heart.


Kelley, on the other hand, w as under no delusion.

He had worked the spirit mystery fo r long enoughwithout profit ; already he w as beginning to morethan suspect that the game w as played out ; that theirdream s o f Lask i as King o f Poland, dispensing wealthand favour to his two helper s, were never to be

realised ; that the Emperor’s favour would be equally

chimer ical and vain ; and that some m ore profitableoccupation had better be sought. At the back Ofhis m ind lay always the hope o f the golden secret.Somehow and somewhere this last aspiration Of thealchem ist must be realised.

At the very time when the two learned doctorswere holding their confabulation, Kelley, s

'

ays D ee,

w as visited at their lodgings with a wicked spiritw ho told him that Dee’s companion would use him

like a serpent, compassing his destruction with bothhead and tayle ; and that our practices would nevercome to any fruitful end.

”

This w as a true prophecy indeed, but many thingswere yet to come to pass .Uriel now instructs D ee to wr ite to the Emperor

and tell him that he can make the philosopher ’sstone : in other words, that he can transmute basemetal into gold. In the next breath Ur iel foretells that Rudolph shall be succeeded by his brotherErnest, fo r when he sees and possesses gold (which isthe thing he desireth, and those that counsel him do

also most desire), he shall perish, and his end shallbe terr ible. D ee shall be brought safely home toEngland. Uriel used a cur ious simile, that D ee

shall ascend the hills as the spiders do .

”D ee, with


w ithout her , but go he will. He will sell his clothesand go to Hamburg, and so to England. It is allvery well fo r the spir its to prom ise spir itual covenantsand blessings ; but as Kelley said to Uriel, Whenwill you give us meat, dr ink and clo athing

At this time the women and children did join the

party from Cracow, although D ee does no t record itin his diary. But on September 27 D r . Curtiuscalled to see him at his lodging in D r . H ageck

’

s houseby Bethlem ,

1and he says, saluted my Wife and

little Katherine, my daughter . D ee laid before himsome o f the Slanders that he knew were going about.H e had been called at Clemente’s table a bankruptalchemist, a conjuror and necromantist, w ho had

sold his own goods and given the proceeds to Laski,whom he had beguiled, and no w he w as going tofawn upon the Emperor . Curtius w as at last indircedto spread before the Emperor his report Of theconference he had held (by command) with Dee.

Rudolph, said Curtius, thinks the things youhave told him almost either incredible o r impossible.

H e wants you to show him the books.” Then the

talk became the learned gossip Of a couple o f bookishand erudite scholar s. D ee produced some rare

editions which the other had never seen. CurtiusOffered the loan o f one Of his ow n works, D e Sup er

ficiemm D ivisibnibus , printed at Pesaro. After this,with mutual courtesies Offered on both parts, after

the manner Of the world,” Curtius took his horse, and

returned homeward.

1 The street is still called Bethlehems Gasse. It runs from the

Huss Strasse to the embankment on the Mo ldau.


Jane D ee w as ailing at this time, and D ee w as

much distressed. Gabr iel, when consulted, told himthat the true medicine is trust in the God o f Hostsand in His Son Chr ist. The Lamb Of Life is thetrue medecine o f comfort and consolation . H e did,however , condescend to give a remarkable prescriptionfo r her use, concocted o f a pint of wheat, a livepheasant cock, eleven ounces o f white amber , and an

ounce of red wine, all distilled together . D ee, thoughno Christian Scientist, w aswilling enough to administer

the strange decoction , but says he knows no t whereo r how to get a cock pheasant. In the spring Of thenext year , Jane

’s fourth child, Michael, w as born.

He w as always rather sickly, and died when nineyear s Old. Theodore, her fifth child, w as onlythirteen when he too died, but all the six otherchildren grew up.

Curtius and D ec became good friends . The

Austrian showed his English acquaintance severalof his inventions connected with the quadrant andwith astronomical tables, and D ee confided to himthe secret of a batter ing glass he had contrived fo rtaking Observations on a dark night. The glass w as

left at Cracow with his books and other goods , buthe would gladly go and fetch it to show the Emperor .

This led to Dee’s request fo r a passport to enable himto travel, with servants, w ife and children , where hewould in the Emperor ’s dominions at any time withina year . He drew it up himself on Octoberand the Emperor granted it without demur . D ee

soon started fo r Cracow to br ing the rest of his goodsto Prague, but the diary fo r the month Of November is


missing, and the following book opens o n December 10,when he had set out from Cracow to return toPrague. Master Kelley w as with him , JohnCrocker , and Rowland and his nurse, w ho had beenleft behind when Mrs . D ee and the tw o elder childrenjoined her husband in Prague. As before, m ore thana week w as occupied w ith the journey, which w as

made in a coach, with horses bought o f MasterFrizer .

”In Prague a new lodging w as found in a

ho use belonging to two sister s, Of whom one w as

marr ied to Mr . Chr istopher Christian , the registrarOf Old Prague. D ee hired the whole house fromhim at a rent o f 70 dollar s o r thalers a year,to be paid quarterly.

On Saturday afternoon , January 12, 1585 , Iremoved clean from Doctor H ageck , his house byBedlem , and came with all my household to the

House which I had hired o f the two sisters (married)no t far from the Market Place in Old Prage.

H e announced his return to the Spanish ambassador and to D r . Curtius, and continued his interviews w ith the schoolmaster daily.

Some o f the sittings recorded at this time are reallyOf the nature of school lessons, which to a man ofDee’s acquirements must have seemed rather elementary, yet he humbled him self as a child to learn.

One day geographical and ethnographical information is imparted about America, o r , as D ee callsit, Atlantis Cathay ; the Bactrian desert ; and

Phalagon , a country o f which D ee says he neverheard. Another day, m inerals and their propertiesform the subject Of the lesson .


the beauty and excellency Of God’s spir it fo r which

he w as created) ; Of the sacrament o f Christ’

s body,the holy sign o f peace between God and man

”

;

and the mystery and wonder of the r ite as shown tothe disciples, no t, as the wicked do , tying the powerand majesty Of God and His omnipotence to the tailo r end o f reason, to be haled as she w ill. Itis a holy m iracle, and thou must believe, as the

Disciples did, that thou partakest Of the true Bodyo f Christ sub former pam

'

s. But receiving ceasing,the Sacrament ceaseth also. This in answer toDee’s interposed question . The Hussite doctrine ofthe permanence o f the sacred element in the commonfood when once blessed w as o f course much in men

’sm inds in Prague. SO with an injunction to sharethis doctrine w ith your wives,

” this expositionends.

CHAPTER XIII

A DREAM OF GOLD

No w,Epicure,

Heighten thyself, talk to her all in go ld,Rain her as many showers as Jo ve did dropsUnto his Danaid

, shew the go ld a miser

Compared with Mammon . What ! the stone will do ’tShe shall feel go ld, taste go ld, hear go ld, sleep go ld.

JONSON, The Alchemist.

ON February 27 1585 , D ee and Kelley, w ithThomas Kelley, rode with great secrecy to Limburg,

six miles from Prague, in Obedience to Madimi, w ho

however told them on arriving that Rudolph knew of

their departure. D ee suspected Laski ’s man, Sontag,Of treachery. Michael appeared to them there, andinstructed D ee to name his new -born child Michael.The infant w as baptised by the Court chaplain in

Prague Cathedral (which is dedicated to the veryunpopular Saint Vitus) on March 18 , the Spanishambassador being godfather and the Lady Dietr ichstein , wife of the Emperor

’s major-dome , godmother .

Kelley w as still murmuring under the mysticaldealings Of the angels. Let them give me somewhatprofitable to my body, o r some wisdom to my mind’sbehoof, and then I will believe in them, he says.Then he protests he will confess all to the priest, andif the holy father does no t allow their doings o rcounsel to be genuine, neither will he.


The remarkable answer that D ee gives again showsus how in advance he w as o f his times in mattersspir itual as well as scientific. The authority of

good angels o r messengers from God is greater , sayshe, than the author ity o f the Pope, o r priests .

”

SO the weeks went on . Kelley postponed the dayo f taking the sacrament. At Easter will be a fittim e. H e will wait till then . H e is tired Of skryingI pray you deal with another . Here is John , a boyin the house. You may use him .

” Thus, fo r the

third time, a boy is suggested.

It is a curious piece Of psychology, o r crystallo

mancy, that Kelley, w ho possessed the mediumisticpowers, w as always so reluctant to use them , whileD ee, w ho , as Madimi told him, had clearer sight thanhis skryer , w as entirely unable to Open up communication with the unseen .

Money w as scarcer than ever . My wife being ingreat perplexity, requested E . K . and me that theannexed petition might be propounded to God and

his good angels, to give answer o r counsel in the

cause. Jane ’s petition set out simply that they hadno provision fo r meat and drink fo r their family, thatit would discredit the actions wherewith they are

vowed and linked unto the heavenly majesty to laythe ornaments Of their house o r cover ings Of theirbodies in pawn to the Jews, and that the city w as fullo f malicious Slanders . Aid and direction are imploredhow o r by whom they are to be aided and relieved.

The spirits, while rem inding her grandiloquently thatshe is only a woman, full o f infirmities, frail in soul,and not fit to enter the synagogue, yet favourably


Kelley, like a spoilt child, demanded o f Michael if

he should have his circle o f letters . The angeladdressed him then in a passage o f exceeding beauty,seeming to scorch and wither the promptings of the

skryer ’s evil nature, while wr estling at the same time

with all the powers o f darkness fo r his soul

O Jeho vah, whose look is more terrible to thyangels than all the fires thou hast created , wiltthou suffer one m an to be carried away, to the dishonour ing and treading under foot o f thee and thylight, o f thee and thy truth ? Can one man be dearerunto thee than the whole world w as ? Shall the heavensbe thrown headlong down , and he go uncorrected ?

”

H e intimates to the partners that their work and

calling is greater than honour , money, pr ide and

jewels . As it is great, so must their temptations be

great.

Therefore God has framed one of you as a stiffem ade Ashe, to bind up the continuance o f his work,and to be free from yielding unto Satan.

”

As fo r the other , Michael prom ises Kelley that noevil spirit shall visibly show him self unto him any

more as long as he is in the flesh.

Whosoever therefore appeareth hereafter is ofgood.

”

Thus begins to yawn before the pair the mostdangerous pitfall o f all. Pride and confidence in the

perfect intuition and knowledge o f God’s will has ledmany a good and holy man astray. Soon even the

stiff-made ash is to arrive at the pitch o f believing

A DREAM OF GOLD 163

that their teachers cannot err , and then comes a

terrible downfall. Michael in an exquisite littleparable bids them cleave fast together . And again itis clear why the elder man , the seeker after hiddenknowledge, the pure-minded and gentle-hearted o ld

mathematician and astrologer , though torn in piecesw ith his partner ’s wild outbursts, his notoriouscupidity, impatience, and evil living, yearned o verhim and his rebellious youth as a mother over herchild. Like Michael, he seem s involved in a pro

longed struggle fo r the rescue o f his soul from the

demons in whose power he devoutly believed.

PARABOLA DE N o nrs DUOBUS.

Awood grew up, and the trees were young, and 10 !there arose a great Tempest from the North, and the

Seas threw out the air that had subtilly stolen him selfinto them. And the winds were great. And beholdthere w as one Treewhich w as Older than the rest, andhad grown longer than that which shot up by him .

This Tree could no t be moved with the wind, but theTree that w as young w as moved to and fro with thewind, and strook himself oftentimes upon the stiff-settree. The Forrester came and beheld, and said withinhimself, The force o f this wind is great. See thisyoung Tree beateth him self in pieces against thegreater . I will go hom e, and will brin my groundinstrum ents, and will erad icate him , an I w ill placehim farther o ff. Then if the winds come, he shallhave room to move.

’ But when he came home, the

Lord of the Wood seeing him in a readiness with hisMattock and his spade, asked him of his goings,which told the thing in order unto his Master . But10 ! his Master rebuked him, and he said thusWhen the winds are no t, they increase, they are no t

M 2


hurtful one to the other . Suffer them therefore.

When the young Tree taketh ro ots, and shall lookup unto some years , his roots shall link them selveswith and under the roots o f the greater . Then ,

though the w inds com e, they shall no t b e hurtfulo ne to another , but shall stand so much the more fast,by how much the m ore they are wrapped together ;yea, when the o ld tree withereth, he shall be a

strength unto him , and shall add unto his age as

much as he hath added unto his youth.

’

And he ceased to dig .

Be no t you therefore haled in sunder , neitherbe you offended one at another . PeradventureReason would set you aside. But Go d will no t.

Behold, if you break the yoke that yo u are in and

runne astray, he that erreth shall perish, even so shallhe that standeth also be desolate. Love thereforeone another , and comfort one another , fo r he thatcomforteth his brother comforteth him self. Let

youth yield to ripe years . Yo u have vowed thatone o f you do nothing w ithout the other ’s counsel,but yo u shall no t b e tw o counsellor s . Let the Doero ccupie the super ior ity. The Seer , let him see and

look after the doings of that he seeth, fo r you are buto ne body in this work.

”

In April, D ee and Kelley returned to Cracow. Asthey were near ing the city they saw a great whirlwindwreathing up the dust and shooting forward in?asoutherly direction . They found their house let

under them to a forced-in tenant, but as D ee had

brought his keys, he effected an entrance, and securedat least a bedstead. By the aid o f his lawyer ,Mr . Tebaldo, an ancient practitioner in Polishcauses,

”he obtained a decree again st his landlord

that without six months ’ notice he could no t be

16 6 LIFE OF DR. JOHN!

DEE

that in all manner o f w ayes I might have a cleanand quiet conscience. On Easter Monday, verydevoutly, in St. Stephan

’s Church,ll E . K . received the

Communion , to my un speakable gladness and con

tent, being a thing so long and earnestly required andurged o f him by o ur spiritual good friends . As D ee

w rote to Walsingham , Saul had become a Paul.It w as a very short interlude. Fo r Laski had no t

yet paid him the money long since due,”and Kelley

once more vows he will leave , fo r the actions are

unsuccessful and are to be cut o ff.” Laski w as againadm itted to the sittings , and King Stephan grantedthem another interview. Laski urged the King totake the tw o alchemists into his service and give thema yearly main tenance . In obedience to hisinstructors, D ee prom ises to make the philosopher ’sstone, if the King will bear the charge. H e does not

profess that he can,but he believes the angels will

teach him the secret. Stephan w as no t so sanguine.

In the King’s private chamber , a sitting w as held,

with the crystal set before him , but he remainedunconvinced . H e gave no encouragement, and in

August the pair , hopeless o f patronage from Poland,returned to Prague, where Jane and Joan Kelley,the children and the servants , had been left underEdmond Hilton ’s care.

An anglicised Italian pervert, Francisco Pucci , nowappeared upon the scenes and w as adm itted to thesittings at the shew-stone. Pucci had been a Lyonsmerchant, but had “ laid aside his trade to study

1 St. Stephan'

s Church , Cracow,in the Stephangasse, erected

135 1, has still its beautiful late Gothic font of 1462 .

A DREAM OF GOLD 167

sacred letters, and become a theological disputant o f

the current type.

1 Professing him self a Protestant,he came to Oxford to study, graduated M .A. in 1574,

and in London , Basle, Antwerp, and other places,became an Open and notorious wr iter and championagainst the Church which he had abjured. H e had

followed Socinus to Cracow, and had noisily opposedthe Jesuits there. Soon after he recanted, becam e a

Romish priest and secretary to a cardinal in Rome,

w here he died in 1606 , and w as buried in the Churchof San Onofrio on the Janiculum .

On his information it appears that three copies o fDee’s manuscripts were burned in Prague, April 10 ,1586 . These were the B ook of E noch, the Fo r tyez

'

ght K eys of the Angels (Clo ves Angelicae) and the

Liber Seientz'

ce Auwz'

lz'

z'

cl Victor ia? Ter r es’

lr z'

s, workswhich had been wr itten dow n from the spir it revelations since the partnershipwith Kelley had commenced.

The books burned were no t o f course the originals,the two first of which still exist. 2 Of the B ook ofEnoch there are three copies, one made by Kelley, aremarkable tribute to the m echanical skill in draughtsmanship, the extraordinary application and ability, o fthis very versatile per sonage. Itcontains hundredso f diagram s o f figures, round o r rectangular in shape,composed o f an infinite number o f minute squareseach contain ing a letter o r figure. These lettersoccur in every po ssible combination and order , some

reading straight acro ss the page, others diagonally,and so on. D ee gives an extraordinary story o f the

1 Wo od , Athen . Oxon . ,vol. i. , 587.

2 SloaneMSS 3189 and 3191 .


restoration on Apr il 30 o f the books said to have been

burned, by a m an like a gardener , invisible to himself, to Joan Kelley, and to all in the garden at the

time, save Kelley. The gardener placed them underan almond tree in Carpio

’s vineyard, on a slopingbank between the banqueting house and the cliffside .

” Trickery of Kelley’s, no doubt.The feeling against these foreign adventurers grewstrong in the city. Sixtus V . , w ho had succeededas Pope, issued a Papal edict, dated May 29 , 1586 ,

banishing D ee and Kelley from Prague within sixdays. It seemed to trouble them very little, fo r D ee

w as already away o n a visit to a new patron , WilliamUrsinus , Count Rosenberg, at his country seat on theMoldau . From thence he went to see some glassworks at Vo lkanau , about twelve m iles north o f the

city ; then he proceeded to Leipsic in time fo r the

fair on May 11 . There he met Lawrence Overton , an

English merchant to whom Jane D ee had given k indattention and hospitality when he had fallen ill in herhouse a year before. Overton had returned fromEngland, where he had seen Edmond Hilton , sent inNovember with letters to the Queen , Sir FrancisWalsingham and others . Hilton w as expected backshortly. Overton w as on the point of returning toEngland, and by him another letter to the Secretaryw as despatched.

Dee’s letters to Walsingham , with their veiledallusions to secret affairs, form one of the groundsupon which the supposition has been based that hew as employed by the Queen ’s minister as a secret spy

and diplomatic agent abroad, and that his cabalistic


this notwithstanding, I thought good before I set upmy coach to write, and most humbly to salute yourhonour very faithfully, dutifully and sincerely, w ithgreat and the same good w ill that my Letter some

years since w r itten to your Honour (but then a

stumbling block unto yo ur Hono ur and others fo rthe strangeness o f the phrases therein ) doth pretend.

So it is, r ight Honorable, that the merciful providenceo f the Highest, declared in his great and abr

'

mdant

graces upon me, and mine, is so wonderful and

mighty, that very few , unless they be present w itnesses , can believe the sam e . Therefore how hardthey are to be believed there, where all my life and

doings were construed to a contrary sense, and

processe o f death contrived and decreed against theInnocent, who cannot easily judgeI am forced to be brief. That which England

suspected, w as also here, fo r these tw o years almost,secretly in doubt, in question , in consultation, Im

per ial and Royal, by Honourable Espies ; fawningabout m e and by others discoursed upon , pryed and

peered in to. And at length both the chief Romishpower and Imper ial dignity are brought to that pointresolutely that partly they are sorry of their so latereclaiming their erroneous judgment against us ando f us, and seek means to deal w ith us so as w e mightfavour both the one and the other ; and partly toRome is sent, fo r as great authority and power as

can be devised and likewise here all other means andw ayes contrived, how by force o r fo r feare they maymake us glad to follow their humours . But all invain, fo r force human w e fear no t, as p lain ly and

often I have to the Princes ‘

declared. And otherwisethan in pure verity and go dlinesse w e w ill no t favourany (my words may seem very marvellous in yourHonours ear s, but mark the end, w e have had, and

shall have , to deal with no babes). I have full oft,

A DREAM OF GOLD 171

and upon many o f their requests and questions,referred myself to her Majesties answer thus invain expected. Nuncius Apo sto licus GermanicusMalaspina , after his year

’

s suit to be acquainted withme, at length had such his answer that he is gone toRome with a flea in his eare, that disquieteth himand terrifieth the whole state Romish and Jesuitical.[Secretly they threaten us violent death, and openlythey fawn upon us . We know the Sting o f Envy and

the fury of fear in tyrannical minds , what desperateattempts they have and do often undertake. But theGod of Heaven and Earth is our Light, Leader andDefender . To theWorld’s end,his m ercies upon us willbreed his praises Hono ur and glory. Thus much, veryrhapsodically yet faithfully, tanqnam dictum sap lentz

'

,

I thought good to comm it to the safe and speedyconveyance o f a young merchant here called LawrenceOverton , which if it come to your Honours handbefore my Servant h ave left his despatch, I may byyour honor be advertised. Your Honour is sufficientfrom her Majesty to deal and proceed w ith me, ifit be tho ught good. But if you m ake a CouncilTable Case of it, Quot homines

,tot sententz

'

ce .

And my Comm ission from above is no t so largeQuz

'

p otest cap er e, cap to t.

The almost apostolical flavour which D ee perm itshimself to impart to some o f this letter , owing to the

greatness”of his believed m ission , shows to what a

height o f rhapsodical fervours his spir it had now

attained . It is stillmore emphasised in the concludingpassage, which begins, however , very practically, withan anxious thought cast back to his English po ssessions .

n

H is desire that Thomas Digges, the em inentmathematician to whom his calculations fo r the re

formed calendar had been submitted, should be sent


over to inspect their do ings, w as curious, but it showsthat he, at any rate, wished to deal openly and

conceal nothing . H e ends thus

Sir , I trust I shall have Justice fo r my houselibrary, goods and Revenues, etc. D o no t you disdain ,

neither fear to bear favour unto your poor innocentneighbour . If you send un to me Master ThomasDigges , in her Majestie’s behalf, his faithfulness to herMajesty and my well liking o f the m an , shall bringforth some piece o f good service. But her Majestyhad been better to have spent o r given away in alms,a Million o f gold, than to have lost som e oppo r

tunities past. No human reason can lim it o r determ ine God his marvellous means o f proceeding withus . H e hath m ade o f Saul (E . K . ) a Paul, but yetnow and then visited with a pang of hum an frailty.

The Alm ighty bless her Majestie both 1n this Worldand eternally and inspire your heart with some

conceiving o f his merciful purposes, yet no t utterlycut o ff from her Majesty to enj oy.

From Leipsic this 14 o f May, 1586 ,at Peter Hans Swarts house.

Your Honours faithful w elw isher to use and com

mand fo r the honour of God and her Majestiesbest service,

JOHN D EE .

On being ejected from Prague, D ee removed hisfamily and goods to Erfurt, but in spite o f the influenceo f D r . Curtius, and of a friend of Rosenberg , he

w as no t allowed to hire a house there, fo r the Italianw as before him . Pucci called on D ee after supper ,and held out hopes that he m ight obtain perm issionfo r their return to Prague, fo r the new Nuncio , the


o f Bohemia and a Knight o f the Golden Fleece.

1

His influence and protection were now to be at the

Englishmen’

s disposal. On August 8 , Rosenbergobtained from the Emperor a partial revocation o f

the decree against them , sin ce they were permittedby it to reside freely in any of his lordship

’s towns,cities o r castles. They settled on September 14,

1586 , at Tr iban o r Treb ona, in Southern Bohem ia,and here fo r about tw o year s their wander ings cameto an end.

D ee resumed the wr iting o f his private diary, inwhich he had made no entry fo r three years, the lastevent recorded there being the departure of the

family from Mortlake just three years before, on

September 21 , 1583. H e Opened a new volume, an

Ephemer ides Crelestz'

um, calculated fo r the years1581— 1620 , by J oh . Antonius Maginus, printed inVenice, 1582 . The fir st entry made in it w as

Michael’s birth at Prague o n February 12 , 1586 ;

the next w as their arrival at Treb ona (fo r it willbe more convenient to follow Dee’s latinised versiono f the name ).

1 An interesting acco unt o f the tw o bro thers, Counts Williamand Peter Ro senberg , their life at Treb ona

,their influence o n the

literature, music , and po litics o f Bo hem ia, is given by Co unt Lutzowin his History of Bohemian Litera tur e pp. 314—32 1

, but he

says there that it w as Count Peter w ho visited Elizabeth, and no t

William . Their fam ous library is now in Sto ckho lm .

CHAPTER XIV

THE CASTLE OF TREBONA

Welcome the sour cup of pro sperityAfflictio n may one day sm ile again and until then ,

Sit down , so rrow.

—SHAKESPEARE, Lowe’s Labour Lost.

TRIBAU, o r Wittingau, the Treb ona of our story,is a small village lying in the beautiful undulatingscenery of the Ludnitz, a small tributary o f the

river Moldau . It is a few m iles from Neuhaus and

Weseli, no t many from the town o f Budweis, on theUpper Moldau, in Southern Bohemia.

In 1586 it consisted of little beside the castle, a

Rathhaus, quarter s fo r a small garrison , and a clustero f dwellings where D ee tells a fire broke out on

Whit Sunday, 1585 , and destroyed several houses .The castle w as one o f Rosenberg’s m any residences inBohem ia, and apparently a favour ite one. The

Viceroy w as now just over fifty (he w as born on

March 10 , he married about this time,1and

his wife constantly accompanied him on his visits toTreb ona. They had also another castle at Neuhaus ,beside a residence with beautiful gardens borderingthe Moldau opposite Prague. They were frequently

1 His mar riage w as appro ved by the spirits and seems to havebeen considered a sign of conversion . He to ld Dee he wished hismaster, Rudo lph, would amend his lo o se life and do the same. The

Empero r had no lawful wife o r child .


on the wing , flitting from Krumau to Vienna and fromVienna back to Prague. H e welcom ed the Englishtravellers him self at Trebona , assigned them theirroom s , and prom ised them all that heart could desire.

The actions , which had long been interrupted, werenow resumed in a goodly chapel next my chamber ,where all the appurtenances were set up, with theangelicall stone in its frame o f gold upon the

table . Rosenberg had been already admitted tothe sittings, in obedience to directions received on

October 14 . When the communications were madein English, D ee translated them into Latin fo r hisbenefit. But experiments with Kelley’s powderwere now all-engrossing, and even the spir its pass fora time into the background. Kelley went o ff toPrague fo r three weeks and w as followed by Rosenberg. D ee remained with his wife and children ;after their hardships , poverty, dangerous and wandering life, poor Jane must have been thankful fo r so

luxur ious a shelter . Visitors fo r D ec constantlyarrived . Among them w as D r . Victor Reinhold, ofSaalfeldt, perhaps a son o f Erasmus Reinhold, theastronomer . Pucci also came fo r a fortnight.In December D ee received a very flattering invitation from the Emperor of Russia (Feodor Ivanow ich)to go and take up his residence at Moscow in the

Court. Dee’s fame as a learned astrologer andmathematician had spread to Russia ; still more w as hisreputation as an alchem ist bruited abroad perhaps hew as already credited with having actually made goldby projection o r transmutation .

The first intimation of the Emperor ’s wish w as


coffers and bring glory and prestige to his name.

Hakluyt hints at it when he says the Offer w as madepartly fo r his counsel about discoveries to the NorthEast, p ar tly for some other w eighty occasions. D ee

w as no self-seeker , o r Cour t flatterer , although thisw as the fifth sovereign he says he might have served.The Offer seems never to have tempted him from hisloyalty to his ow n Queen . He bade Garland at oncedism iss six out o f the eight Russian servants he hadbrcfught to attend them on their journey, and turnedto matters more important.

O n 19th December , to the great gratifi cation ofMaster Edward Gar land and Francis,his brother ,whichEdward had been sent to m e with a message from the

Emperor of Muschovia, that I should come to him,

E . K . made projection with his powder in the proportion o f one min im (upon an ounce and a quarter ofmercury) and produced near ly an ounce o f best gold ;which gold w e afterwards distr ibuted from the crucible,and gave one to Edward.

It is quite significant that K elley made the

gold, K elley showed it, and D ee is content to

give him all the credit. The pangs and heartburnings and jealousies have yet to come. N o w he

only felt that at last he w as victorious in his longquest. H e w as on the crest o f the wave . His hourhad come.

H ow the wonderful trick w as done, Kelley couldbest describe.

Kelley w as now constantly riding to Prague, o r mak

ing longer expeditions to Poland, fo r he still had hopeso f getting more money from Laski. By March hishope seem s to have been realised, fo r Dee notes that

THE CASTLE OF TREBONA 179

Kelley paid him about 500 ducats in tw o o r more sums

(about This plenitude o f money of courseencouraged the idea abroad that they were actuallymaking it . When he returned from Prague on

January 18 , Kelley brought a handsome present fromRosenberg to Jane D ee, in the shape o f a beautifuljewelled chain , the value o f which w as esteemed at300 duckettes,

” says D ee, 200 the juell stones and100 the gold.

”In three days Kelley had po sted Off

again to Prague, to join Rosenberg at his house inthe city. This time he took w ith him his brotherThomas , Francis Garland, and a Bohemian servant,Ferdinand H emyck . No doubt he w as pursuing hisexper iments fo r the multiplying o f gold in the

city, away from D ee.

Kelley’s letter to D ee announcing this arrival ofhis in Prague is the only communication betweenthis strange pair o f par tners that seem s to havesurvived. It shows that erratic and wayward creaturein a gentle and even affectionate light, and althoughits pious protestations are obviously overdone, itpictures fo r us quite vividly the relations between thetwo, and partly accounts fo r the strength o f the tie

that bound D ee to his intractable pupil, soon tobecome his master . Fo r while D ee laboured laboriously and scientifically with his alchemical compounds, Kelley at one bound overleaped the chasmand by som e process best know n to himself professedto have arrived at the goal.To Dee’s single-hearted nature such success w asmagnifi cent, wonderful. H e began forthwith to treathis quondam skryer with added respect ; the expressionDominus Kelley

”creeps once into the diary ; and

N 2


Kelley grew arrogant and overbearing. Fo r the

moment, however , he is all fo r friendship and respect.

Prage. 1587 . 25 Januarn .

”

[This in Dee’

s hand.](addressed)

“To the Right Worshipful and his assuredfriend Mr . John D ee Esquire, give these. Magnifi co

Domino, Dom ino D ee.

Sir . My hearty commendations unto you, desir ingyour health as my ow n ; my Lord w as exceeding glado f your Letters , and said, N ow I see he loveth me,

’

and truly as far as I perceive he loveth us heartily.

This Sunday in the Name o f the Blessed Trinity Ibegin my journey [to Poland], wherein I commendme unto your prayers, desiring the Alm ighty to sendhis fortitude with me. I commend me unto Mrs.

D ee a thousand times , and unto your little babeswishing myself rather amongst you than elsewhere.

I will by God’s grace about twenty days hence return,

in the mean season all comfort and joy be amongstyou

Your assured and immoveable fr iendE . KELLEY.

When this letter reached Trebona, D ee had goneriding with tw o horsemen of the city of Neuhaus, hoping to meet Rosenberg, who he thought would returnthat w ay from Vienna to Prague. Mrs. D ee at oncedespatched the servant Ludovic to meet his master .

So D ee received Kelley’s affectionate letter in the

highway, without Platz,”a village about half-w ay to

Neuhaus . Ludovic carried also a little note from Janeto her husband. It is the only letter of hers w ehave, but it confirms all that w e suspect. W e knowher to have been a well-educated, well-read woman ;

the writing is strong and clear ; and did no t FrancisPucci describe her as a learned woman , lectissima

femina She must also have been an extraordinarily


By April Kelley w as once more settled as part ofthe household

,and on the 4th the crystal gazing w as

resumed. H e professed to hear instructions toRosenberg, who w as present, to build a commonwealth, render tribute to Rudolph, and he shall beDuke o f Brandenburg. To him self things are saidhe is no t reluctant to hear . W e have seen howalmost immediately after his marr iage he took a

vio lent dislike to his wife. In the four years, itseem s, he had reproached her fo r giving him no child.

To him generation w as the root principle o f alchemy,and the phase of it in which he centred his attention.

It is always the marriage o f the red man,copper,

and the white woman, mercury, that is to tingethe wholeworld with gold. N ow a voice tells him w hyhe is barren . Not because o f his reckless, disorderedlife, but because she w as o f his ow n choosing— thewrong woman ! Therefore he is to be seedless andfruitless fo r ever . H ad it no t been fo r the Dees’

kindness to her , and especially Jane’s, poor neglected

Joan Kelley would have had but a sorry time. She

w as only twenty-four ; lively and docile, she seem edto please everyone but her husband . Pucci, withperhaps a little flattery, calls her rarum exemplumjuvenilis sanctitatis, castitatis, atque omniumvirtutem . If she had no t all the virtues , she at

least had several. H er brother , Edmund Cooper,and another friend so loved her that they came overfrom England a year later on purpose to see if sheand her husband could no t be more reconciled .

Kelley had been more unsettled than ever , discontented with his wife, with his calling , its results, and


above all with his position and his poverty. Whatw as a pittance of fifty pounds a year to a m an in

constant intercourse with prin ces and nobles, withcredulous fools possessed with dream s of gold The

same qualities that attracted D ee were equally m ag

netic with others. Laski loved him ; Edward Dyerdeserted his old friend D ee fo r this newcomer , a

nobody. H e had made him self invaluable to Ro senberg , who seem s to have had

,implicit faith in

his powers . Rosenberg induces the Emperor toemploy him . H ad he no t already found the secretof projection ? W as he no t the possesso r o f the m agic

powder which waited only fo r the opportunity to betransfo rmed into countless heaps of ducats ? Onlymoney w as wanting, and that he could certain ly get.

But he must first be released from this galling po sitiono f medium . H e told D ee that all through this Lenthe had prayed once a day at least that he might no

more have dealing to skry. At Easter -time he didreceive a prom ise to b e set free from the crystal

gazing, as he desired, but his wish fo r freedom w as

not exactly approved by the angelic m inisters .

Is it a burthen unto thee to be comforted fromabove O fo o lish man 1 By how much the heavensexcel the earth

,by so much doth the gift that is

given thee excel all earthly treasure. N o tw ith

standing, thou shalt no t at any time hereafter beconstrained to see the judgm ent of the Highest, o rto hear the vo ices of heaven , fo r thou art a stumblingblock to many. And the power which is giventhee o f seeing shall be diminished in thee, and shalldwell upon the first bego tten son o f him that sittethby thee.

”

LIFE OF DR. JOHN DEE

The selection o f a child as Kelley’s successor seemsno t to have been altogether unexpected. It had beenhinted in Prague a year before that a b oy wouldserve fo r the office ; but that the choice would fallupon Dee’ s ow n son must have come as a dreadfulsurprise, at any rate to his mother . No doubt the oldman regarded it as a mark of special heavenly honour .

It is more likely that Jane, with her practical mind,regarded the change o f medium with anything butsatisfaction . Arthur w as now seven and threequarters o f a year o ld, a clever child, alr eady well

grounded in Latin , but far too tender in years and

disposition to be made the subject of any psychological experiments . Fortunately fo r him,

his skry ingwas a dismal failure, although it seem s to have benthis childish mind towards the occultism he followedin after—life. Distinguished physician as be afterwards became, both at home and in the service of theEmperor of Russia, he w as a true son o f his father ,and main tained to the end of his life a beliefin alchemyand transmutation which nothing could shake.

Kelley w as desired to initiate the child.

I thereupon thinking that E . K . wo uld,should o r

best could, in struct and direct the childe in thatexercise, did alw ayes await that E . K . would ofhim self call the boy to that exercise with him ; and

so much the rather because he said that he w as veryglad now that he should have a Witness o f the thingsshewed and declared by spir itual creatures And thathe would be mo re willing to do what should be soenjoyned to him to do , than if only he himself did see.

But when E . K . said to me that I should exercise thechild and no t he, and that he would not, I thereupon


everything , even o f their w ives . All things are tobe in common between them .

D ee, to whom Madimi is invisible, though hehears her voice, fiercely rebukes her : Such wordsare unmeet fo r any godly creature to use. Are the

commandments of God to be broken ? This participation , he insists to Kelley, can be meant onlyin a Christian and godly sense. Kelley construes theinjunction very differently, but he affects a chastehorror and swear s fo r the hundredth time that he w illdeal no m o re with the spirits .Then Madimi, w ith scathing irony, addresses themboth as fools , and o f little understanding . Notcontent to be hearers, would they be Lords, Gods,judgers o f the heavens She turns away. Youro w n reason riseth up against my wisdom . Behold,you are free. Do that which most pleaseth you .

It is a comfort to learn that the child Arthur had all

this time fallen down “ in a swound .

”He w as indeed

very ill fo r some time afterwards , and small wonder .

D ee pr o tested and argued with Kelley and withMadim i. H e w as consumed with grief and am aze

m ent that go od angels could propound so hard andunpure a do ctrine.

”H ad he no t offered his very soul

as a paw n to discharge E . K . his crediting of themto the good and faithful m inister s o f Almighty God

Was it no t his life’s work to withdraw Kelley from

any kind of association with the bad spirits w ho hadfrequented him before he cam e to Mortlake ?

Until tw o in the morning o f this April 18 , 1587the pair sat up arguing , talking, praying . Kelley heldforth about a little spirit, Ben, w ho had that day


appeared to him in his laboratory alone, and had shown

him how to distil oil from spirit of wine over a retortin two silver dishes whelmed one upon another , witha hole through the middle and a sponge betweenthem , in which the o il would remain . Ben had

foretold Elizabeth’s death in July (she lived fo r

sixteen years), the death o f the King o f Spain and the

Pope ; in fact, a general m or ibundity of sovereigns.Francis Garland w as a spy sent by Bur leigh to see

what they were doing ; Rosenberg would be shortly

poisoned fam ine and bloodshed would cover the

land. Many other dire calam ities would happen ifthey were no t conformable to the voice ; chief of all,the virtue should be taken from Kelley’ s precious

powder ; it would be rendered unprofitable, and he

would become a beggar . It w as Ben, he says, w hohad brought him his powder .

D ee replied that he had found so much halting and

untruth in Kelley’s reports of actions when he w as

no t present, that he wo uld believe nothing save whatby better trial he fo und to be true . But at last hisresistance seem ed to be overridden , and in the chill o fthe early morning he went to bed, heavy at heart inspite o f his delusion . His poor wife w as lying awake,wondering what turn their ill-starred fortunes werenext to take .

‘Jane,’ I said, I can see that there is no o ther

remedy, but as hath been said of o ur cross -matching ,

so it must needs be done .

’

Poor Mrs. D ee, sho cked and horrified, fell a-weeping and trembling fo r a full quarter o f an hour , thenburst into a fury o f anger . At last she implored


her husband never to leave her . I trust, said she,that though I give myselfe thus to be used, thatGod will turn me into a stone before he would sufferme in my obedience to receive any shame o r incon

venience. She would eat neither fish no r flesh, shevowed, until this action , so contrary to the wholesomelaw o f God, and so different from former actions,which had often comforted her , w as confi rmed. Boththe indignant wom en demanded a repetition of theaction .

In obedience to Raphael’s counsel, a solemn pact o rcovenant w as humbly draw n up by D ee on the 21st,

and signed by these four strange partners in delusion . It promised blind Obedience, with secrecy uponpain o f death to any of the four . It deprecated all

intention o f impurity and guilt . Its subscriberspromise to captivate and tread under foot all human

timorous doubting that the true or iginal power and

authority o f sins releasing o r discharging is from the

Creator . True Christian char ity spiritual, perfectfriendship and matr imonial liberty between the fouris vowed, and they beseech that this “ last mysticaladmonishm ent be no t imputed to them fo r rashness,presumption, o r wanton lust.Dee’s hand is unm istakable in the document. He

regarded the new developm ent apparently only as a

symbol of further spiritual union, and a means ofobtaining a closer entrance into the secrets o f allknowledge. It w as no matter to him , he says, if the women

were imperfectly obedient. If it offend no t God, itoffended no tmee, and I pray Go d it did no t offend him .

Kelley drew up a paper the day after Dee’s,washing

CHAPTER XV

THE EN D OF THE PARTNERSHIP

If all yo u boast of your great art b e true,Sure willing po verty lives m o st in you.

BEN JON SON, Ep igram to Alchymists.

D EE now resumed diligently his writing in the

other diary, which becom es a strange medley o f

daily affairs small and gr eat. H e sent FrancisGarland to England with another letter to Walsingham , dated June 17 , begging him to continue hisopinion o f Dee’s fidelity towards H er Majesty and

the realm.

1 It would be useless as yet to render anyaccount o f commodity to them o r their countryreaped by this peregr ination , but I trust more willbe glad of our com ing home than were sorry of ourgoing abroad.

”H e has no t heard from Mr . Justice

Young since May twelvemonth, but hopes his pitifulcase o f the books and other injuries endured have, byW alsingham

’

s favour , had some redr ess . There isno news o f importan ce but the Polish King’s election,

the mysteries whereof, by the time this bearer reachesEngland, will be known to you. Remember me toyour good lady and to your daughter Lady Sidney.

”

Money w as now plentiful enough, and on September 1D ee covenanted with John Basset (who had arrivedat Trebona on August 20 ) to teach the children

1 Cal. State Paper s Dom ,1580—1625 , p. 212.

THE END OF THE PARTNERSHIP 191

the Latin tong, and I do give him seven ducats bythe quarter , and the term to begyne this day ; and soI gave him presently seven ducketts o f Hungary in

gold, before my wife. God spede his wo rk.

” Arthur ,w ho w as just over eight, w as getting on w ith his

grammar Katherine w as six . Thus w as anotherelement introduced into the o ddly assorted household,and on September 4 D ee wr ites : Basset his hurlyburly with T . Kelley Paym ents to Basset wereentered regularly each quarter until August following ,

w hen the tutor , whose real nam e seem s to have beenEdward Whitlock, w ent o ff to Budweis o n pretenceof buying cullo rs — perhaps fo r painting, and neverreturned.

Various visitors came to Trebona, am o ng themPucci, bringing Christian Francke, the author o f some

bo oks wr itten against the Jesuits.

1 Rosenberg re

turned to Trebona , and finding a constraint existingin the relations o f the household, set him self toreconcile them . July 19th . a certayn kind of recommendation between our wives . Next day som

relenting o f E . K . , also by my Lord’s entrety .

”

Rosenberg came and went frequently, so did his w ife .

Lord Biberstein , a friend o f their s , came to makeDee’s acquaintance.

Alchemical experiments were being prosecutedwith vigour . It w as Dee’s turn to m ake som ething

prized, even if it were no t gold. Sept. 28th . Idelivered to Mr . Ed . Kelley (ernestly requiring it

1 One Of Francke ’

s bo oks w as translated in to English by Wm .

Charke in 1580 . Ano ther Dee carried to Archbishop Whitgift inOctober , 1592, begging him to cause it to be co nfuted .


as his part) the half o f all the animal] which w as

made. It is to weigh 20 o unces ; he wayed it himself in my chamber . H e bought his weightspurposely fo r it. My Lord had spoken to me beforefo r some, but Mr . Kelley had no t spoken.

” Secrecybeing necessary, he is evidently using a word of hiddenmeaning.

Kelley w as constantly r iding to Prague, and in

October , while he w as away, John Carpio [who hadjo ined them at Trebona] did begyn to make furnacesover the gate. H e used o f my rownd br icks, and fo rthe yern pot w as contented now to use the lesserbr icks, 60 to make a furnace. Experiments on a largescalewere about to b e begun , andwhen Kelley returneda week later , ter r ibz

'

lz’

s ewp ostulatz’

o accusatio , etc. , isthe entry under his name. Edmond Hilton returnedfrom England, and a month later Francis Garland,bringing letters from Edward Dyer . H e broughtalso letters from Court advising their return home.

People in the neighbourhood were beginn ing to talkabout the strange do ings o f the foreigners in the

Castle, and the Captain Critzin of the Guard disdained to come to a wedding supper in the R athhaus

because D ee and Kelley were to be present. The

household grew larger and larger . Thom as Kelleyw asmarried in June. In December , “Mr . John Carpiowent towards Prague to marry the maiden he hadtrubbled ; fo r the Emperor

’s Majestie, by my LordRosenberg

’s m eans , had so ordered the matter .

”

He

w as absent till February 16 , and in April brought hiswife. D ee turned back to his books of tables, figuresand symbols . The 30 and 31 day I began to frame


weary his former master w as now summonedimperiously to come and amuse him He sends the

Old man a message by his brother Thomas , saying,You study to o much, it is to o late in the day to goto Cromlaw , as you intended, he wishes you to come

to pass the tyme with him at play. D ee m ildlyconsents I went after dynner and playd, he and Iagainst Mr . F . Garland and Mr . Rob . , tyll supper

tym e in his dyning rome, and after supper he came

and the other s, and w e played there ham o r threehonres and frendely departed. This w as then afterthe great and wonderful unkindness used toward mein taking my man .

” A week o r two later Kelleysent fo r D ee late in the evening to come to hislaboratory over the gate, to see how he distilledsericon , according as in time past and o f late heheard of me out o f B iplay.

1 God lend his heart to allcharity and vertue.

”

It is evident that Kelley w as jealously and secretlywork ing at his experiments apart from D ee. He had

learned much alchemy from his master and hismaster ’s wonderful library in the four years, butthere w as still knowledge stored in chambers of Dee

’sbrain o f which he could no t pick the lock. To enterthese inner recesses had been doubtless Kelley’s aimwhen he represented the spirits as bidding them shareeverything with each other . But he, on his part, hadno intention o f sharing anything that he discovered.

The year 1588 began badly, fo r the child Michael,on New Year

’s D ay,

1 Geo rge Ripley, Canon of Bridlington, TheCommon/rid ofAlchymie,1471 , printed 1591 .

THE END OF THE PARTNERSHIP 195

“going childyshly with a sharp stick of eight incheslong and a little w ax candell light on the top o f it[evidently the child w as keeping Chr istmastide in

good old German fashion], did fall uppon the playn

bords in Marie’s chamber , and the sharp poin t ofthe stik entred through the lid of his left ey towardthe corner next the nose, and so persed through,insomuch that great abundance of blud came o ut

under the lid, in the very corner of the sayd ey .

The hole on the outside IS no t bygger than a pin’

3

hed ; it w as anoynted with St. John s oyle . The boyslept well. God spede the rest of the cure . The

next day after , it apperid that the first tow ch of the

stikes point w as at the very myddle o f the apple ofthe ey, and so (by God

’

s mercy and favor ) glancedto the p lace where it entred ; with the strength o f

his bed and the fire of his fulness . I may makesome shew of it to the prayse of God fo r his

mercies and protection.

Dee o f course w as as skilled in medicine as anydo ctor o f the time. He rendered medical assistancewhen Thomas Kelley’s wife, Lydia, m iscarried withtwin boys . He notes his o w n symptoms carefully :June 19 , I had a grudging o f the ague. June 22 , Idid evidently receive the ague and layd dow n .

J an. 17. The humm ing in my ears began . Ano thertime I w as very sik uppon tw o o r three sage leaveseten in the morning ; better suddenly at night.When I cast them up, I w as well.The coldness between the tw o became unbearableto D ee, the peacemaker , o f whom Aubrey relates thatif ever any of his neighbours fell out, he would no t

let them alone until he had made them friends. In

April, he wrote to Kelley and his w ife 2 charitable0 2


letters, requiring at theyre hands mutual char ity.

The same day he made friends with Captain Critzin,

and on Sunday, when Jane w as churched after Theodore’s birth, received the Communion with her . He

hears o f some fresh treachery o f Pucci, and of Rosenberg

’s displeasure, but all is forgotten on May 10,

when Kelley “ did open the great secret to me, Godbe thanked ! A few days after , Mistris Kelleyreceived the sacrament, and to me and my w ife gaveher hand in charity, and w e rushed no t from her .

The reco nciliation does no t seem to have been altogether complete. Every visitor throughout thatsummer , Edmund Cooper , Joan Kelley

’s brother ;Mr . Thomas Southwell, his friend ; Edward Dyer ,Francis Garland, and Count Rosenberg, all seem tohave tried to patch up the quarrel, but things onlygrew worse.

The great secret opened by Kelley w as no doubtthe professed secret of the gold . D ee must very soonhave found out the true value o f this secret,

” butapparently he continued to believe that Kelley hadhonestly transmuted base metal, and w as keeping themethod to him self. Nothing w as less likely thanthat he would share his knowledge, even with themaster who had taught him all he kn ew. The fir st

essential in alchemy w as secrecy. It is characteristico f D ee that he seem s to have been more pained at

Kelley’ s want o f confidence in him , than chagr ined at

no t knowing the secret. Of jealousy that Kelley w as,o r seemed to be, the successful alchem ist, there is no

'

trace. But Kelley w as gradually undermining all

Dee’s influence and friendship with Rosenberg , who

198 LIFE OF DR. JOH N DEE

Kelley and the rest rode towards Punchartz in the

morning. She w as on her w ay to England, and

only once thereafter does this young woman’

s nameenter into o ur story.

O n November 23, Francis Garland and Mr . Dyer ’

servant, Edward Rowley, w ho had come back a weeko r two earlier , left fo r England. D ee sent by them a

most important letter to the Queen, also letters toDyer , Mr . Young, and to Edmond Hilton. Newsfrom England travelled slowly, and D ee had no t longsince heard o f the glorious defeat o f the SpanishArmada of the previous May . The victorious captains,Frobisher , Drake, Hawkins, were all well known tohim , and with the Adm iral in chief command, LordHoward of Effingham , he w as very familiar at Court,fo r his wife had been Jane’s early patron and fr iend.

Patriot that D ee w as, yearning to get back to England,he now wrote to the Queen a letter o f congratulation

(dated November 10 , 1588 ) upon the splendid victoryo f her navy. It w as couched in the graceful andfantastic term s o f homage o f the day , and is a literaryproduction well befitting a man o f his reputation.

The letter is reproduced from the original. It is

printed by Ellis in L etters of Eminent film .

He speaks in it o f his proposed return , and begs fo ra safe conduct through all the domains of princesand potentates which lay between him and home.

Happy are they that can perceive and so obey thepleasant call of the mightie Lady Oppo rtunitie. The

answer , of course, took long to come, but he began tomake his preparations slowly. He gave to Kelley thewonderful convex glass which the Q ueen had so often

DEE TO Q U EEN ELIZABETH ON TH E DE FEAT OF THE SPAN ISH ARMADA.

(See j . 198 )


and three W allachees fo r the saddle— cost £120 , andcheap they were at that. The three new coaches,with harness, saddles and bridles, cost £60 ; and the

hiring of two o r three waggons fo r his goods, books,furn iture, vessels, etc . , ran into £110 . Then he hadan escort o f twenty-four soldiers from D iepholt toOldenburg , as perm itted by the Emperor

’ s passport ;and from Oldenburg to Bremen , the Duke o f that

province sent six musqueteers to protect him . Itw as a dangerous time to r ide abroad, as he says, no tlong before the outbreak o f the Thirty Years’ War .

A party o f eighteen horsemen had lain in wait fo r hiscaravan fo r five days, but a warning cam e througha Scot in the garrison o f Oldenburg, and Robert,the Landgrave o f Hesse, extended his powerfulprotection .

The train o f coaches and waggons, with the

traveller s and their baggage, left Trebona on

March 1 1 . The Castle had been their home fo r a

year and a half, and w e can fancy Jane, at any rate,dreading to take up once more the o ld wander ing life.

Fo r it w as to be a year and thr ee-quarters morebefore they set foot in England. On the 18th theywere in Nuremberg, where they stayed two nights ;on March 26 they reached Frank furt-am—Main , and

o n April 19 , five weeks after leaving Trebona, theyWere in Bremen, their present destination.

CHAPTER XVI

THE EN D OF KELLEY

All you that faine philo sophers would be,And day and night in Geber

’

s kitchen broyle,Wasting the chips o f ancient Hermes

’

tree,

Weening to turn them to a precious oyle,The more you w o rke the mo re you lo ose and Spo ile .

To you, I say, how learned so c’

et you be,

Go burn your Bo okes and com e and leam e o fme .

SIR EDWARD KELLEY, Metrical Tr eatise on Alchemy .

BEFORE continuing the story of Dee’s life in

Bremen and his return to England, the end o f

Kelley’s extraordinary meteoric career , which sixmore years extinguished, must be briefly traced.

D ee expected Kelley to join him at Stade. H e

confi dently thought they would return to Englandtogether , obedient to the Queen’s summons . ButKelley w as now a great man with Rudolph , who hadgiven him an estate and a title, and established himat his Cour t in Prague as a citizen and councillor o f

state. Apparently he succeeded in keeping up the

deception o f making gold. The news o f his promotion w as conveyed by D ee to Walsingham , at

Barn Elms, in a letter dated August 22 , to

which w e shall again return . H e speaks of Kelley as“my great friend, yet in Boemia, and surmises that

La/mdowneMS . lxi. f. 159.


Walsingham may have heard direct from him , who isnow in most favourable manner created a Baron o f

the Kingdom o f Boem ia .

The actual title conferred w as eqnes anm tus, a

synonym fo r m iles ” which took its origin in the factthat a knight

’s armour w as gilded. In English itw as of course Sir . The title must have been con

ferred on Kelley very soon after D ee left Trebons inMarch ; fo r by the end of June he is called SirEdward by a couple o f Englishmen , Robert Tattonand George Leycester , who w ith Edmond Hiltonwere at Treb ona then , and cam e on to D ee at Bremen.

Kelley commissioned them to take down particularsof the treachery o f one Parkins , a Jesuit in Prague,w ho w as plotting with the King o f Spain and the

Pope against England .

2 H e w ished o f course toscore his faithful discoverie o f this treason .

”He

also desired Burleigh and others in England to knowwhat great honour had been done him , and he obtainedin February, 1590 , a confirmation of the grant o f histitle to send over , lest there should be any doubt inEnglish m inds . The document,3 curiously enough, iscountersigned by D r . Jacob Curtius, the acquaintanceo f three year s before.

Constant letters passed between the two former

fellow-workers through the year 1590 , the messengerbeing either Thomas Kelley o r Francis Garland . Allmanner of wild stories were current in England, and

1 These appear as Ro lous Tattin and Geo rge Lo sin in the

diary printed by Halliwell.3 Lansdo wne AIS . lxi. f. 64 cf. ibid . f. 186 .

3 LansdowneMS. dcccxlvi. f. 243.


in 1591 , who w as then acting as the Queen’

s agent inGermany, he urges him to use every m eans in his

power to induce Sir Edward Kelley to come over tohis native country and honour her Majesty with thefruits o f such knowledge as God has given him.

”

Dyer had been Dee ’s friend fo r a great many years,as w e know, and w as Arthur ’s godfather , but he transferred all his attentions to Kelley as soon as thatclever trickster began making gold . D ee only says hedid injure me unkindelie .

” Kelley and Dyer becameinseparable , and Dyer wrote hom e to Burleighwonderful reports o f Kelley’s m iracles . Igno ring all

that had passed, Burleigh is ready to welcome thequondam coiner , forger , o r what no t, with open armsback to the service o f his Queen . If his knowledgeis as certain as you make it, whatwould you have me

think could stay him from flying to the service ofhis ow n sovereign ?

” If he is afraid of o ld reports,actions, disgrace, being brought up again st him (andw e know Kelley’s record w as none of the cleanest),let him be assured that he shall have his Queen’s

protection against all impediments that shall arise.

Burleigh becomes almost poetical as he speaks o f thepatronage o f such a Pr incess, who never yet w as

stained w ith any breach of Prom ise to them thatdeserved her favour . If I did no t know to whom Iw rite, who has had lo ng experience of her rare

vertues , I could use many arguments to moveany man never to m istrust her . H e implores Dyerto induce Kelley to come. If he does no t come, itcan only be because by cunning o r legerdemain hehas deceived them and cannot do what he promises , o r

THE END OF KELLEY 205

else he is an unnatural disloyal man and subject. In

case Kelley will no t come, he asks if Dyer cannotsend a very small portion of his powder to make a

demonstration to the Queen ’s o w n sight. What theTreasurer would like most o f all is that Kelleyshould send her Majesty as a token a good roundsum o f money, say enough to defray the charges ofthe navy fo r this summer ,

”

fo r the ships of Spain were

gathering courage after their defeat. But wishersand w oulders were never good householders, he ends .The Queen is at his house at Theobalds, and will besome time longer . H e would be content the time

were tripled, so he had but one corn o f Sir EdwardKelley’s powder . Burleigh and Kelley were also indirect correspondence. Beside urging his return, the

Lord Treasurer , w ho seem ed to consider Kelley as

the storehouse of the elixir of life as well as ofthe philosopher

’s stone, begs fo r a prescription withthe proof o f m anufactured gold. In a br ief note o f

February 18 , Kelley says he will shortly sendthe good thing desired fo r your health. H e has

received the salutations sent through Mr . Dyer , and

at his return you shall know ho w I thank you.

This, the only original letter o f Kelley’s to be traced,

characteristically prom ises what he never m eant todo. Burleigh replied in May , again begging him to

send something of your operation to strengthen me

afore next w inter against my o ld enemy the gout.”

He once more strongly urges Kelley’ s return . H o w

can he hesitate to bestow the gifts that God has

1 LamdowneMS . lxvi. f. 164 .


given him rather upon his o w n Prince and Countrie

than upon strangersKelley o f course did no t return , but apparentlywrote again ,

urging powerful reasons of excuse.

Burleigh’

s faith in him began to shake . H e sent alast imperative recall, some of which m ay be quotedfrom the ro ugh draft written in his o w n hand .

1 Itshows once more what sort of men the great Queenhad to serve her , and w hat a Queen she w as to serve,

Beginning Good Sir Edward Kelley, Burleighacknowledges Kelley

’

s letters by Dyer . Withoutparticular knowledge of your impedimenta , I may no t

give any such censures as others so e unconsiderately,yea unchar itably, may do e . You confess a desire toreturn to your native countrie ; your m inde draws toyour sovereign . This is commendable, yet many say ifyou come no t, it is because you cannot perform whathas been reported o f you. Malicious persons say youare an impostor , like some in other co untries have beenproved. You fear severe punishment. N o w ,

“goodkn ight, though I wr ite thus plainly to you, yet suchis my credit in Mr . Dyer , such my allowance o f yourloyal profession , such opin ion do I firm ly conceave ofyour wisdom and love expressed in your letters, suchmy persw asio n o f your habillitie to performe whatMr . Dyer has reported (by reason of the estimation ,

honor and credit I see that you have go tton by yrbehaviour ), that I rest o nly unsatisfied ln your delayeo f coming ; and I am expressly commanded by Her

Majestic to require you to have regard to her honour ,and according to the tenor o f her former letter s , toassure yrself singularly favoured in respect o f the

benefit you may bring to H er Majestic .Be assured o f worldly reward. You can make yr

1 Lansdo 'wneMS . ciii. f. 2 10 . There is no date.

208 LIFE OF DR. J OHNfiiDEE

H e had been established in a house o f his ow nclose to the Palace his wife and brother had rejoinedhim ; Edward Dyer made it his headquarter s. One

day , the last of April, perhaps even before Burleigh’

s

letter w as dispatched, he w as suddenly arrested bythe fitful Rudolph

’s command, and thrown intoprison . A large force o f the imperial guard, accom

panied by the City Provost and one o f the Secretarieso f State, burst uninvited into his house to take himwhilst at dinner . But a friend at Court had whispereda word, and the evening before he had r idden o ff

w ith one attendant towards Rosenberg . The

intruders had to b e content with haling o ff brotherThom as to pr ison , pinacled like a thief.” Theysearched the house thoroughly, broke open doors, andthrust their halberds into the beds o r any place whereSir Edward ” might possibly lie hid. Satisfied he

w as no t there, they scaled up certain o f the rooms,laid som e o f the servants in chain s —one w as afterwards racked and departed, leaving a guard overLady Kelley and Mr . Dyer , forbidding them to

stir from the house. Returning with their news tothe Empero r , Rudolph cursed in the Dutchmanner ,

and gave orders to search the town and the highways .Kelley had r idden o ffmany miles towards his patron,

the all-powerful Rosenberg, but being weary and fasting,halted at the inn at Sobislaus, fed, and threw him

self on a couch to sleep. By three days after , May 2,

the soldiers had tracked him dow n ; and roughlyseizing him , they cut open his doublet with a knife tosearch fo r concealed valuables o r papers, vow ing theycared not whether they took him dead o r alive to the


Emperor . Kelley appealed to his all-powerful friend,Ro senberg. In Bohemia,

” says the merchant in hisletter , “ it is a rule that his Majesty dares do nothingwithout the Earl’s consent, he being Burgrave ofPrague, the immediate person and offi cer under theCrown .

” Rudolph w as already sinking into the

melancholy and madness in which he ended his

days. However , Rosenberg’s protection did no t

avail. Kelley w as taken to the Castle of Purglitz,three miles from Prague, and there he w as closelyconfined fo r more than tw o yearsAnd now fo r the cause o f Rudolph

’s displeasure,and the reason o f the arrest.First, it is surmised to be debt, but the merchant

adds that although Kelley is known to ow e a largesum to tw o Cologne merchants who trade in jewels,he owes nothing to the Emperor , no r ever has puthim to any charge, save fo r coals and house room.

Next it is thought he w as in league w ith a professedgold-maker from Venice, executed by the Duke o f

Bavaria at Munich, on April 25 . (Of him , to o ,

Burleigh has written in his letter to Dyer . ) Thirdly,the Emperor ’s fear that Kelley would depart fo rEngland is adduced. Dyer had brought autographletters from the Queen recalling him. A doctor ’s sonin the tow n, who had served Sir Philip Sidney inEngland, and knew her hand, had reported this. Itw as of course an invention ; and the merchant opinesDyer is of too rare a discretion to permit secret lettersto be seen o r even heard o f ; it is more lik ely thatKelley has some time o r other vaunted at table thatthe Queen had sent fo r him. He is a man w ho

taketh, as I hear , a pleasure that Princes desire him.

J .D . P


Fourthly, it is the doing o f the powerful fam ily o fthe Poppels, second fam ily in the kingdom, and greatenemies o f the Rosenbergs, w ho have been the

setters up and pr incipal maintainers o f Sir Edw ardKelley hitherto. The fifth report is that Kelley haddistilled an o il o r medicine fo r the Emperor

’s heartdisease, which w as poison . Lastly, the wr iter comes towhat he takes fo r the true reason o f Rudolph’s anger .

An Italian , named Scoto, having cast imputationson Kelley ’s powers o f projection , the Emperor sentfo r him to come and make proof o f his art at Court.Kelley of cour se excused him self, saying he w as sick.

Three times he w as summoned, and then the guardw as despatched to bring him . The accusation w as

L aesus Maj estatz'

s, and the city wonders what will bethe end. The Emperor dare no t openly execute him ,

fo r fear of Rosenberg and the strong feeling in the

State fo r a change of ruler . Yet he may easily beput to death secretly in that castle where he is confined, and Rosenberg no t know otherwise than thathe liveth, o r is dead by disease. Alm ost grown now

to bc a common Practice in the Empir e, and in thePalatine especially, noted that w ay .

”

This dark “hint is almost a prophecy o f Kelley’sfate ; but the doom w as no t yet quite prepared. O n

December 5 , 1593, D ec received news o f his havingbeen set at liberty on the previous October 4,

just tw o and a half years after his arrest. Not a wordo f him in Dee’s diary in the meantime, untilMarch 12 of that year , when the o ld man records thathe dreamt much o f Kelley tw o nights running, as

if he w er in my house, familiar , with his wife and

brother ,


times exchanged betw een Kelley and D ee, and in

March, 1595 , Francis Garland, w ho had then no t longreturned from Prague, came to visit me and had

much talk with me o f E . K . Kelley w as apparently then restored to the Emperor

’s favour , fo r onAugust 12 , D ee says he “ receyved Sir Edward Kelley

’sletters o f the Emperor , inviting me to his servyceagain . Did Kelley think there might be furtherhints to be go t from his old alchemical master ?Then under date o f November 25 , 1595 , Dec

enters this curt note the news that Sir EdwardKelley w as slayne .

” Never thereafter does he mention this adventurer

’s name.

The prevalent story is that Kelley w as again imprisoned in one o f Rudolph’s castles, and that,attempting to escape by a turret window, he fellfrom a great height and broke both legs, receivingother injuries, from which he shortly died. It iseven said with some amount of credibility, that theQueen wrote imperatively to Dyer to secure hisrelease, and that everything w as prepared in readinessto convey him secretly to England, and that hew as escaping fo r that purpose when the accidenthappened. This story has hardly been tracked hometo its source. It may be true. O n the other hand,the end may have come in the more sw ift and secretmanner suggested by the English merchant. In

either case, the spirit warning of eleven years before,that he should die a violent death, w as fulfi lled. Intohis forty years as much adventure, folly, trickery and

deceit, fortune, fame, favour , riches and poverty, hadbeen crowded as could supply material fo r many a

volume of romance.


Some o f the incidents were indeed used a few

years after his death by more than one dramatist.

Dec had only quitted the world about a year and a

half when Kelley’s pretensions, Dee

’s learning, and

the whole paraphernalia of alchemy, were severelysatirised by Ben Jonson in The A lchemist a

play which reflects all the crudest super stitions o f

the time. The credulous knight, Sir EpicureMammon, describes Subtle, the alchemist, as

A divine instructo r can extract

The soul o f all things by his art call allThe virtues and the miracles o f the sun

Into a temperate furnace teach dull natureWhat her o w n fo rces are .

A man the Empero r

Has cour ted above Kelley ; sent his m edalsAnd chains to invite him .

!

In Butler ’s H udz'

br as, first published in 16 63, butwr itten ten o r fifteen years earlier , D ee and Kelleyare again cited, though the satire is chiefly directedagainst Sidrophel, t

'

.e. W illiam Lilly. The devil issaid to have appeared in diver s shapes to Kelley ;and in the description o f Sidr0phel, these lines occur

H e had been long toward mathematics,

Optics, philo sophy and statics,

Magic, ho ro scopy , astro logy,And w as o ld dog at physio logy ;He had read Dee’s Prefaces befo reThe Devil and Euclid o

’er and o

'

er ;

And all the intrigues twixt him and Kelley,Lescus, and the Empero r , would tell ye.

One may wonder how much these scurrilousreferences had to do with fixing D ee

’s reputation

in the eyes o f his immediate posterity.

CHAPTER XVII

RETURN TO ENGLAND

If I have done my dutiful service any w ay to her Majesties wellliking and gracious accepting , I am greatly bound to thankAllmighty God, and during my life to frame the best of my littleskill to do my bounden duty to her m o st excellent Majestic .

— DEE, Compendious Rehear sall.

UPON Dee’s arrival in Bremen on April 19 , 1598,a house w as at once hired, and the family moved inon May 13. He put o ut his three saddle horses tograss in the town meadow till Michaelmas , fo r nineducats , and presented the twelve Hungarian coachhorses to the Landgrave o f Hesse, to whose kindnesshe had been indebted fo r protection as he passedthrough his territories. In Junc, Thomas Kelley, hisw ife Lydia ; Francis Garland, andDyer

’s man, EdwardRowley, left fo r England. At the same time Edmo ndHilton returned to Prague. An agreement o r bondhad been entered into between the late partners thatthe proceeds o f the wonderful discovery should beshared. Hilton w as back on July 30 , with news ofKelley : perhaps no t good news, fo r three nights after ,towards daybreak, Dee

’s sleep w as disturbed by a

terrible dream, which visited him no t fo r the firsttime, that Mr . Kelley would by force bereave me

o f my books. Hilton left almost immediately fo rEngland with a letter from D ec to Walsingham todisclose the treason of the Jesuit, Parkins. This


Then he begs the Secretary ’s leniency if he hasoffended in wr iting of matter s no t pertaining to him,

and of which no doubt your honour has alr eady hadall necessary advertisement from properly autho risedpersons .” H e will w rite no more o f public affair s,his com ing thither w as no public but his privatecause, the beginn ing o f his nere return-m aking intomy most derely beloved Native Co untry.

”

At the sam e time (August D ee wr ote to hisfr iend, Mr . Justice Young, that the messengers hadbeen delayed twenty-five days waiting fo r a wind ; thathe feared the Low Countr ies were bent on shaking o ff

the Queen ’s author ity if they could ; and that he fearedhe should have to endure this Bream ish habitationthis winter , as I do no t hear a word of the approachof Sir Ed . Kelley, o r of Mr . Dyer ’s return .

“

In Bremen , D ee mingled with all the learned anddistinguished men o f the time. A memento o f this

period is to be found in an album , the Thesaurus

Amicornm, o f Timon Co ccius (o r Koch), a youngBremen student w ho died while at Leyden Universitythree o r four years after . The album o f white vellum,

faded and yellow ed with age, with its edges stillshining with the mellow lustre o f old gold, w as the

receptacle o f autographs, wise and pithy sayings,original o r quoted, all inscribed after the beginningo f July, Sayings from Plautus and Seneca,Juvenal, Pythagoras and Hom er , follow and pressclose upon the wisdom o f Boethius, from D e Con

solatione, and the divine poetry o f Dante . The first

1 Cal. S . P . D . ,1580— 1625 , p. 277.

1 Add. MSS . 19 , 065 .

A PAGE FROM THE THESAUR US AMICORUM OF TIMON Co ccw s.


collected to bid him good speed, and to see the homeward bound travellers o ff quite a little scene tookplace, which must have pleased and flattered D ee

immensely, fo r there w as no lack , o f -a man’

s fullshare o f vanity in him . Pezel had composed some

verses o n his departure, had got them pr inted thenight before, and as the party were leaving Bremenfo r the seapo rt, a few miles away, the Pro fessor distr ibuted copies as a parting surprise. The travellersarrived in the Thames at Gravesend on December 2,and o n landing the next day went straight to the houseo f Mr . Justice Thomas Young, at Stratford.

1 We

may imagine Jane’s relief at getting her children

safely back to England, w ith the addition of Michael,born at Prague, nearly four year s , and little Theodore,born at Trebona , nearly two years before.

Since D ee’

s departure from England six yearsago , great events had happened. The invincibleArm ada o f Philip had been beaten in a six days’

running fight up the Channel. The Queen ’s hatedrival, Mary of Scotland, had been put to death ;Leicester ’s short dictatorship of the Netherlands hadbegun and come to an end . Leicester had been deadabout a year . N ew favourites had arisen in the

Queen ’s favour . But even more significant thanthese public affairs had been the upward m ovementin literature, the birth o f dramatic art, a passionateoutburst o f poetic fervour , the growth o f a taste fo rwell-disciplined prose. Many splendid fruits o f thismovement had no t yet seen the light, Sidney

’s

1 Dee calls him my brother , but he no t infrequently uses the

term . He may have married Jane ’

s sister , Elizabeth.

RETURN TO ENGLAND 219

Ar cadia and the first part o f Spenser ’s Faerie

Queen were to be issued within a few months ; thefirst play o f Shakespeare w as publicly performedwithin little more than a year o f Dee ’s return.

But Lyly and Marlowe had already, during hisabsence, given Camp asp e, Tamlmr laine and D octor

Faustns, to be performed by actors in the firststationary home of the earlier nomadic players , thetheatres of Shoreditch, immediately to be followedby those of Bankside. Bacon w as perhaps even thenm editating his E ssays, published some half a dozenyear s later ; Hooker issued the first books of hismonumental L aw s of E cclesiastical P o lity within four

years and Nash, Peele, Green , and a horde o f otherwriters, were contributing to establish the Eng lishliterary renaissance. O ne can scarcely help wondering how much the fabulous stories of D ee and Kelley,which must have reached Marlowe ’s ear s, contributedto his splendid dramatisation of the Faust legend

(first printed in Frankfort in But after all, eventhe sto ry o f Dee’s angels and Kelley’s gold, palesbefore the lur id glow o f the stories o f the earlieralchem ists, Agrippa and Paracelsus .Dee landed in England a disappointed and a partlydisillusioned m an , clinging to a belief which w as yet

useless, unprofitable to him . H e could prove nothingof Kelley’s exploits . But he lost no time in repair ingto Court, and on December 19 he w as graciouslyreceived by the Queen at Richmond.

On Christmas D ay he fir st slept in his ow n ho useat Mortlake, and beheld fo r him self his ruined and

rifled library, with its precious books and instrum ents

“


missing. He him self w as in dire straits. H e had

little left: him save his wife and children , and somestill faithful friends. H e took the house over as a

tenant from his brother-in -law ,From o nd, and settled

down in the o ld quarters . Adr ian Gilbert w as the

first visitor , generously offering as much as I couldrequire at his hands, both fo r my goods carried away,and fo r the mynes . Very soon Thomas Kelleyarrived and followed suit by offering the loan o f ten

pounds in gold ; he afterwards sent it me in

Hungary new duckettes , by John Croker the same

evening. He put me in good hope o f Sir EdwardKelley his returning.

A second daughter w as born , and chr istened at

Mortlake, on March 5 . The name given her w as

Madinia, suggested by the busy little spirit who hadbeen so helpful at her first com ing . The child w as

christened at Mortlake o n the 5th , Sir George Carewas godfather , Lady Cobham and Lady Walsingham ,

godmothers . Letters cam e from Kelley by Garlandin March, and replies were despatched by ThomasKelley in Apr il. D ee is careful to give his former

skryer his full title Sir Edward Kelley, Knight, atthe Emperor ’s Court at Prague . Francis Garlandw as by, and Mr . Thom as Kelley, his wife. God

send them well thither and hither again .

O n Lady D ay, the children begin to go to schoolw ith Mr . Lee at Mortlake. I gave him his houserent and forty shillings yercly fo r my three so ns andmy daughter . The house rent w as allmo st 4s. yercly,

r1 A grant o f royalties o n Devonshire m ines had been made to

them jo intly.


deliver it to o ne o f my sonnes, most fit among themto have it. Theo ddo r had a sore fall o n h is mowthat mid-day .

Dee’s income w as now almost a negligible quantity.

The parsonages had paid him no rent since he leftEngland: H e went two o r three tim es to Lambeth,and talked boldly to Archbishop Whitgift o f hisr ight to them .

H e began to interest him self in his immediateneighbourhood with the idea of stopping the

Bacchus Feast,”at Brentford, a rowdy celebration

which had excited his indignation and of which hegave the Bishop of London a warning .

In August a domestic tragedy o ccurred : one ofthe women servants became melancholy and wentout o f her m ind. Lunacy being a disease beyondeven Dee ’s medical knowledge, and fo r 300 yearsafter , being treated m ore o r less as d

'

emoniacal

possessio n , it is no wonder that the remedies he triedwere ineffectual. It seem s another instance of thefalse views of Dee’s character that have been repeatedover and over again , that the editor of his Manchesterdiary urges as a proof o f Dee ’s m agic and evilexperiments that some of the inmates o f his housebecame suicides when in his service.

” 1

Aug . 2 . Nur s her great affliction o f mynde.

Aug . 22 . Ann my nurse had long byn tempted by a

w ycked spirit, but this day it w as evident how she

w as possessed of him . God is, and hath byn , and

shall be her protector and deliverer . Amen .

1 Man chester Dia ry, ed . J . Eglington Bailey, 1880 , priv. pr . , p. 17 .

RETURN TO ENGLAND 223

25th. Ann Frank w as sorrowful, well comforted,and stayed in Gods mercyes acknowledging.

26th. At night, I ano ynted (in the name o f Jesus)Ann Frank, her brest, with the holy oyle.

3oth. In themorning she required to be anoynted,and I did very devoutly prepare myself and pray fo rvertue and pow r , and Christ his blessing of the oyleto the expulsion o f the w ycked, an then tw yse

anoynted, the w ycked one did resist a while.

Sept. 8 . Nurse Ann Frank wold have drow nedhirself in my well, but by divine Providence I cam

to take her up befor she w as o ver come of the water .

”

After this Dee had the woman carefully watched.

Sept. 29 . Nurse Ann Frank most miserably didcut her ow n throtc, afternone ab ow t four o f the clok ,pretending to be in prayer before her keeper , and

suddenly and very quickly rising from prayer , and

going toward her chamber as the mayden her keperthought, but indcde straight w ay down the stayrs

into the hall of the o ther howse behind the dooredid that horrible act. And the mayden who w aytedon her at the stayr fote followed her and missed tofynde her in three o r fow r places, tyll at length shehard her rattle in her ow ne blud.

”

In November the Queen came to Richmond andsent fo r Dec. She offered gaily to send him something to kepe Christmas w ith. This promise w as

repeated to his fr iend, Richard Cavendish, a week o rso later she told him she wold send me an hundredangells to kepe my Christm as w ithall. Next day,December 4, the Queen

’

s Majestic called fo r me at

my dore, circa 35 a meridie, as she passed by, and Imet her at the East Shene Gate, where she graciously

putting down her mask did say with mery chere, I


thank thee, D ee. There w as never promise madebut it w as broken o r kept.

’

The thank s were obviously ironical fo r the reminderof the prom ise ; the rest of the speech w as rathercruelly jocose, fo r , as D ee adds, she had promised tosend the money that day . However , o n the 6th, anearnest o f the gift arrived , in the shape o f £50 . On

the 14th, she again called fo r D ec as she rode by hisdoor , “ to take ayre, and he met her at the park

gate as before. H e does no t indicate the subject ofthe conversation, but it w as probably a request onhis part fo r some kind o f royal perm ission to continuehis experiments in alchemy o r transmutatio n, fo r on

the 16th he tells of a visit from Richard Cavendish,w ho has received from the Queen , warrant byword o f mouth to assure me to do what I wold in

philo sophic and alchem ie, and non shold chek, con

trol], o r molest m e. Coupled with this message, shesent another promise to make up the £100 .

Dee’s mind w as now bent, he says , to deal with hisalchem ical exercises , and the only distractions he

appears to have had were the constant visitors andsm all disasters of the children . The boy Rowlandfell into the Tham es on August 5 , over head and

ears, about noon o r soon after . Their favourite placeo f play seem s to have been on the river bank, andaccidents there were o f no infrequent occurrence.

Arthur , when a child, had fallen from the top of theWater -gate Stair s to the bottom , and had cut hisforehead badly. Theodore also had a nasty fall.


attaining a m itre. D ee went to Court at Nonsuch inAugust, and a day o r tw o after his return dined, atBurleigh

’

s invitation ,with the Lo rd Treasurer and

his two sons , Sir Ro bert and Sir Thomas Cecil, at

Mr . Mayn ard’s

, at Mortlake. Burleigh also sent himvenison and invited him again to m eet Lo rd Cobham.

All prom ised their influence in obtaining fo r himthe co veted Mastership . But it w as another castle inthe air . His friends were extremely good to him .

In May , 159 1 , he says

Sir Thom as Jones , Knight (unaxed) offered mehis castell o f Em lyn in Wales to dwell in so long as

he had any interest in it, whose lease dureth yettwelve yeres , freelywith commodities adjoining unto it ;and also to have as much m ow land fo r rent as myght

pleasure m e sufficiently. The 27th day he confi rmedthe same his offer agayn before M r . John Harbert,Master of theRequestes , in his hall atMortlake, whichhis offer s I did accept o f and he w as glad thereof.

H e could never have entertain ed the idea of goingto live in Wales, but no doubt it w as policy to acceptall o ffer s . Herbert w as an old friend and neighbour .

His daughter Mary and Arthur had played at a

childish m arriage years before. They seem to havebeen playfellows still, after the Decs’ long absence,fo r in this June an accident happened to Arthur at

Mr . Herbert’s , about sun setting . H e w as“wounded

o n his bed by his wanton throwing o f a brik-batupright, and no t well avoyding the fall o f it again.

The half-brick weighed 2; lb.

”

O n May 3 of thefollowing year , Arthur aged thirteen ,

became a

Westm inster scholar . W ensday at ten o f the clock

A ROYAL COMMISSION 227

Arthur w as put to Westminster Schole, under Mr .

Grant and Mr . Camden ” 1 He came back home in

two o r three weeks, perhaps only fo r a few days, and

Dec in returning him to lessons wrote a characteristic

letter to his friend, William Camden , the antiquary.

2

It shows how carefully the father had studied the

child’s health, abilities , and the quick temper , inheritedfrom his mother . There is a tender touch in thatmother ’s forethought to furnish the bo y with m eanstowards a special cleanliness which the provision fo r

ablutions at Westm inster did no t contemplate. The

“little chest w ith lock and key”

fo r the firstborn son totake to school is always a family event o f magnitude.

22 May 1592 .

W o rshipfull Sir . I have here returned your scholerunto your jurisdiction , beseching you to shew yourcharitable affection towards him he had more and in

better order then he will recover speedily. Of your

gr eat skyll and faithfull industrie in your functio n , itis most certayne to your great credit and merit.Of the w onderfull D iversitie of Childrens Dispo sitions, much you can say by experience but o f myne(this Arthure) I am to request you to conceyve at myhands, that he is of an exceding great and hantymyndnaturally, ready to revendge rashly. The natur all

inclination is to me evydent as who hath o [So l] inho ro sco po , and 3 [Mars] in co rde Leonis . D ictum

sapienti sat esto fo r ver a cnr atur a you m ay alter thisnaturall co urage to true fortitude and no t to fraylerash fancyes So crates did overcom e by grace Divineand his industrie, his untowardness , signified by the

1 William Camden , second master,succeeded D r . Edward Grant

as head master in March , 1593.

2 Cotton MSS . , Julius C. ,v.

,f. 45 .


Art physiognomicall—you know the histo ric . This

spiritual] grammatical] concords o f good manners Ihave great care that all my imps m ay be instructedin , to the m o re apt and skilful] serving o f our Creator .

Syr , my wife hath delivered unto him some moreapparayle and furniture in a little chest with lock andkey , yea, and w ith some tow ales to wype his face on

after the m o rning and other washings of hands andface : w illing him to buy him a stone basen and

a pott, o f a po tter , to have allways clene and

w ho lsom water in fo r his use.

The boy liketh abundance o fm eate well but verybashfully he sayd that there proportion o f Dr inke issomewhat to[o] little . I pray yo u by discretion listento the vo yce and Opinion of the rest o f the counsells

within him , fo r now in the summer seasons, the proportion o f Drink naturally doth increase abovew inters appetite thereof.Thus I am bold to cumber your w urship with these

my speedy ragged lynes . And therein I beseche youo f one thing m o re, that his writing , both of roman

and secretary hand decay no t, but rather be amendedfo r a fayre writing is often tym es a good grace to

matter very simple.

Wherefore know that today they have at the rightWurshipfull Mr . Deans [D R Now ell

’

s] very honourable guests , and that this night it is intended thatthey w ill sup and lodge all night at Fullham . Godbless your w urship and prosper you in all everyour true and faithful wellw isher

John D ee.

To the W o rshipfull my singular friende Mr .

Camden these be delivered .

”

On New Years’

D ay , 1592, at the sunrising

exactly, Dee’s third daughter w as born . She w as

230 LIFE OF DR . JOHN DEE

a national reproach that a man o f science like him selfsho uld be left in beggary. And so indeed it w as.

Fo r thirty-four years had the Queen , true to theTudor m o tto— to use everyone as a servant, to ow e

no gratitude, only acceptance o r approval— spentprom ises upon him,

but she had never given him a

chance of providing fo r him self.

Fo rasmuch as the intolerable cxtremitie of theinjuries and indignities which your most excellentMajestie ’

s faithful] and dutiful] servant, John D ee,

bath fo r som e year s last past endured, and stillendureth , is so great and manifold as cannot in briefebe unto yo ur Majestic expressed , neither without

goo d pro o fe and testimonie have credit with yourMajestic, and because also without speedy and

good redress therein performed, it is to be doubtedthat great and incredible inconveniences and griefsmay ensue thereof in sundry sortes , (which yet mayeasily be prevented) your Majestie’s foresaid mosthumble and m o st zealously faithful] servant beseechethyo ur Majestic to assign tw o e o r m o re meet and

wo rthy persons , nobly and vertuo usly m inded, w homay and will char itably, indifferently, advisedly, andexactly, see, hear and perceive at the house o f yourMajestie ’s said servant in Mortlake, what just and

needful occasion he hath thus to m ake most humblesupplication unto your Majestic ; and so of thingsthere seen , heard, and perceived, to make true and

full report and description unto your Majesty. And

thus your Majestie ’s foresaid m ost dutiful servantbeseecheth the Alm ighty God most mercifully,prosperously and alw ayes to bless and preserve yourm ost excellent Majesty royal. Amen.

A. 1592 . Nov. 9 .


The result o f this unusual request w as that tw ocommissioners were at once appointed by the Queen .

Within a fortnight Sir John Wolley, Secretary fo r

the Latin Tongue to Queen Elizabeth, and o ne o f

her Privy Council, and Sir Thomas Gorges, Knight,o f the Queen ’s Wardrobe, were seated in Dee

’

s “ latelibrary room at Mortlake, prepared to listen to hismanifesto.We may be sure he had long been prepar ing fo rthis day . H e seated the two gentlemen at a table inthe middle o f the room, placing near them a coupleo f other tables spread, o ne with letter s and recordso f his studious life fo r the space o f a halfe hundredyears, now by God

’ s favour fully spent,”the other ,

with all his ow n books, printed and manuscript, a

complete author ’s collection of original works. Atthe suggestion o f the comm issioners he had occupiedthe interval o f thir teen days in preparing the autobiography which he called The CompendiousRehearsal] o f John D ee, his dutiful declaration ,

so freely quoted in these pages . It w as in some

order of method most briefly and speedily contrivedagainst this day ; and in every respect, save that o fchronological order , it is a pattern document. It

gives the impression of having been written down infr agments, each incident o r recital being complete initself and most carefully dated, on a separate sheetof paper , and then the sheets shuffled and picked outby chance to follow each other fo r putting together .

The story leaps from college days in 1547 to travels

1 The autograph MS. is in Cotton MS , Vitell. c. vii. if. 1— 14.


in 1571 , on to Christmas gifts in 1590 , back to theQueen ’s visit in 1575 , thence to his impr isonm entand appearance before the Star Chamber in 1555 , and

his reformation o f the Calendar in 1582 . H e passesvery lightly over his late travels abroad, merelyadding that he w as very ungodly dealt w ithall,when I meant all truth sincerity, fidelity and pietytowards God, m y Queen and Country The catalogue o f his works is valuable, but it is unnecessaryto pr int it in the present volume.

1 H e concludes hislist of eight pr inted and thirty-six manuscr ipt works

some perfectly finished and some unfinished yetwith the very latest, the Comp endiousR ehear sall itself,adding that there were many other books, pamphletsand discour ses no t set down . H e explains that thelist is given neither as they were w r itten no r byorder of yeares, but hastily as they came next tohand out o f diverse chests and baggs wherein theylay . H e ends the chapter with a remarkable proofof the fecundity o f his still active brain , in spite of hissixty-five years .

The m o st part of all these here specifyed lye herebefore yo u o n the table on your left hand but byother bo oks and wr itings o f another sort (if God

grant m e health and life thereto o f some ten o r

twelve years ),2 I m ay hereafter make plain and

without doubt this sentence to be true, P lnr a latent,

quamp atent. What other works he did accomplishin the sixteen years yet to run o f his long life, he

1 See Mr . Thompson Co oper’

s bibliography, Dict. N a t. Bioy.

2 The spirits had once to ld him he would live to b e seventythree and a half.


having no t one Peny o f certaine Fee, revenue, stipendo r Pension, either left me, o r restored unto me,o r of any yet bestowed on m e. H e shows howat his return three year s before, he found him selfpenniless ; cut o ff fo r ever from his two par sonages ;disappointed as yet o f the large yearly allowance

prom ised him fo r his life from Bohem ia . Probablyon parting from the then afllucnt Kelley, some bondw as entered into by him o r by Rosenberg to transmitto him a share of the enorm ous profits they expectedfrom the multiplication of the gold . To save us

from hunger starving ,”

he had had to appeal tofr iends , and he reco rds gratefully that somew ho hadbeen unfr iendly before he left came to his aid o n his

return . They put to their helping hands in manyways, and already he had received from them a sum

o f £500 and more. Yet he has had to pawn his

plate little by little until all w as gone. After thesame m anner went my wife

’s jewels of gold, rings,bracelets, chaines and other our rarities, under thethraldom of the usurer ’s grips, till non p lus w as

wr itten upon the boxes at home .

”

H e has borrowedupon sureties , upon his perso nal bill o f hand, upon hisword , upon his prom ise, and he has run up accounts,so that no w he is in debt fo r £333, beyond the £500.

The true accounts o f all these gifts, loans, and

debts upon score, talley, o r bOok , is here before yourHonours ho w the usurer devoureth him and howhe is dayly put to shame, may be seen . Othernecessary expenses amounted to £267 , so that he hasspent but £56 6 in three years fo r housekeeping,

”

and

that with great parsimony, and with gifts from go od


friends of wine, whole braw nes, sheep, wheat, pepper ,nutmegg, ginger , sugar , etc . , and other things fo r the

apparel of me, my wife and o ur children .

”H e has

mortgaged his house fo r £400 , and now w ill haveto sell it fo r half it cost to pay his debts, he and his

family to become wanderers and homeless vagabonds,furnished only with bottles and wallets. What shallhe do, he pitiq y begs, that he may prevent his name

being handed down to posterity as a warning tolovers and students o f truth no t to follow in his stepsand be given to such disgraceful shifts and indignitiesHe ends with a passage o f true eloquence

Therefore, seeing the blinded Lady, Fortune,do th not govern in this commonwealth, but justitiaandp rudentia , and that in better order than in Tully

’sRepublica , o r Books of Offices, they are laid forth tobe followed and perform ed : most reverently and

earnestly (yea, in manner with bloody teares ofheart), I and my Wife, o ur seaven children and o ur

servants (seaventeene o f us in all) , do e this day makeour petition unto your Ho nour s that upon all godly,charitable and just respects had of all that you havethis day scene, heard, and perceived, you will m akesuch report unto her most excellent Majestic (withhumble request fo r speedy reliefe), that w e be no t

constrained to do o r suffer otherwise than becom ethChristian and true faithful] obedient subjects to do o r

suffer . And all fo r want of due mainteynance.

CHAPTER XIX

DEE’

s LIBRARY

The comm erce o f bo oks acco steth and sccondeth all my course,

and everywher e assisteth m e . It comfo rts m e in age , and so lacesm e in so litarinesse . It easeth m e of the burden of a w earysome

slo th,and at all tim es r ids m e o f tedious companies . It abateth

the edge o f fretting so rrow and is the best munition I havefound in this human peregrination .

-MONTA1GNE, Essays (Flo rio ).

THE acco unt o f the library at Mortlake as it w aswhen D ee left it in 1583, form s one of the mostvaluable portions o f the Comp endious Rehear sall.

Compar ing it w ith the catalogue which he madebefore leaving with Laski, w e can see at a glance ofwhat intrin sic value w as this collection of preciousbooks which so often haunted its owner in his dreams.

Two or iginal copies o f the Catalogue o f manuscriptsremain,

1one o f which is dated September 6

,1583, a

fortnight before he sailed from England, and there isa third, m ade by Ashm ole from one o f these.

The library contained, however , no t only booksand manuscr ipts, to the number o f four thousand,bound and unbound, but scientific instrumentscollected from several parts of Europe The booksalone D ee valued at in the current value ofthe day, fo r many o f them were unique autog raphia

o f famous and rare authors. As a further proof of1 Trin . Co ll. Camb . MSS. Har leian MSS . , No . 1879. Printed in

the Diary, Camden So c., pp. 65—89.


among the objects, fo r D ec had invented, as w e haveseen , what he calls a Paradoxal] Cumpass . Therew as also a great piece o f load-stone, o r magnesstone, of extraordinary virtue . It had been sold fo rfive shillings, but being divided up and parted w ith

piece-meal it made m ore than £20 .

There w as also an excellent w atch-clock, made byo ne D ibbley , a no teable workman , long since dead,by which clock the tyme m ight sensibly be m easuredin the seco nds o f an houre , that is , no t to faile the36oth . part o f an houre . The use o f this clo ck w as

very great, m ore than vulgar .

”

Then in the three laborator ies, the chambers and

garrets , were stores of chem ical stuff, which he hadbeen twenty year s getting together . A lso a greatcart-load of special vessels fo r chem ical use, someearthen , some of glass , metal and m ixed stuff, w hichhe had brought from Lorraine when Mr . Powell andhe had gone o ver in 1571 . Of these, only a few

broken bits remained . He descr ibes other things leftin his outer o r open library, and in particular a

great bladder with about four po unds weight of avery sweetish thing, like a brownish gum in it,artificially prepared by thirty tymes purifying it ;whosoever came by it hath more than I could wellaffoord him fo r one hundred crow nes, as may be

proved by witnesses yet living.

As regards the manuscr ipt treasures of the library,he mentions specially a great case o r frame o f boxes,full of rare evidences of lands in Ireland which hadbeen in the hands of some of the ancient IrishPrinces. Agreements fo r subm ission and tr ibutes,

DEE ’S LIBRARY 239

with seals appended, and m any other valuable recordsof the descent of these m anor s to such families as the

Mortimers, the de Burghs, the Clares, etc. How he

came by these, save in the w ay o f a collector , does

not appear . His interest in Welsh ancestry would

account fo r his amassing Welsh records, of which he

says there were many deeds o f gift from Welsh

princes and nobles, of land devoted by them to thefoundation and enriching o f religious houses. N o r

man deeds also dating back to the Conquest. Thesew ere all methodically stored away in separate boxes,each marked on the fro nt the fore part o f the

boxes —with chalk, explaining its contents. Whenhe returned from his six years wandering abroad, andlooked in the poor boxes, he found the name outsidew as all that w as left. The deeds had been imbezzled

away, every one of them , which is a loss of greatvalue in sundry respects, as antiquaries can testifie

fo r their part, and noble heralds can tell fo r theirskill, and as her Majesties oflicers, fo r her interest andtitles Ro yal], may think in their consideration .

N ear this great chest o f boxes stood another box,very much less in size, measuring only tw o feet byone and a half, which w as filled with nothing but sealso f co ats o f arms ; many of these were named, and

had already proved invaluable to students of heraldryand genealogy, as well as to the Queen

’s Heraldswho had carefully exam ined them , also a number o f

o ther antiquaries as Cam den , Stow and others. The

Clerks o f the Records in the Tower had sat wholedays in the library at Mortlake, gathering raretiesto their liking out of them . D ee w as no blind


collector , hoarding things because they were of valueto him self. H e w as a true altruist, gaining hisknowledge to share with others .

Unto the Tower I had vowed these my hardlygotten muniments (gotten as in manner o ut of adunghill, in the co rner o f a church, wherein verym any were utterly spoyled by rotting , through theraine continually, fo r m any yearcs before, falling on

them through the decayed roof of that church, lyingdesolate and waste at this houre).But truly well deserve they the imprisonment of

the Tower , that will no w still keepc them ,if any

publique warning by her Majestic o r her r ight honorable Council] were given fo r restitution of them tothe Office in the Tower .

”

Dee’s o w n works were o f cour se in the libraryalthough no t in cluded in his catalogue. H e drew upa list o f them fo r his Ap ology to the Archbishop in1595 , by which it appears that before he left Englandeight had been published . The unprinted bo oks andtreatises, some, he own s, no t perfectly finished,numbered forty-six. To these other s were addedbefore he died two that m ay be especially namedwere upon the Three Oracular Sentences of theAncients N osee te ip sum, H omo H omini D eus, and

H omo H omini Lupus, and a Treatise uponthe Queen

’s Sovereignty over the Seas,”a fitting

subject indeed fo r an author who had personallyknown most of the great navigators , and who had

already written so in telligently upon the navy and

the coast fisheries o f “ Albion . This book w as

undertaken at the request of an honorable friend


hymn of his o w n composition appear s . The Gr ound

of A r tes, his first wo rk went through eleveneditions before D ee augmented it and added some ofhis apologetic doggerel rhymes .

That which my friend hath well begunFo r very lo ve to comm on wealeNeed no t all who le to b e new do neBut new increase I do reveale .

Something herein I o nce redrest,

And now again fo r thy b eho ofc

O f zeale,I do c, and at request,

Both m end and add,fit fo r all pro ofe.

O f numbers use , the endlesse mightN o w it no r language can expresse,

Apply and try ,bo th day and night,

And then this truth thou wilt co nfesse .

I . DEE.

From or iginal and auto graph works w e may now

turn to the m iscellaneous contents o f Dee’s librarya truly vast and precious collection fo r one private

gentleman o f precar ious fortune to ow n in the

sixteenth century. Printed books were by no meanseasy to obtain, and manuscr ipt copies entailed a greatexpenditure o f skill, industry, tim e and cost. The

text w as often ignorantly o r corruptly rendered byan imperfect scribe o r copyist, and the scholar and

collector could no t rest satisfied without severalversions o f one work.

The cataloguer o f the 200 most important manuscripts— D ee him self— enter s with exactitude the sizeand substance of each volume. The bulk of coursewere in quarto, although a few folios and octavosare mentioned. Most o f them were wr itten upon

DEE ’S LIBRARY 243

parchment, but a certain number were o n paper .

Bindings were no t noticed, chiefly because as yet few

were bound. Tw o OfRoger Bacon ’s tracts , however ,on the multiplication of species, and o n perspective,the owner describes as together “ in paste-bords withstrings . These identical tracts, in Dee

’

s ow n hand,are now being edited by Mr . Robert Steele, from the

o riginals in the Mazarine Library, BibliothequeNationale, Par is. From D ee they passed to SirRichard Eden , afterwards to the Kenelm DigbyLibrary. Treatises o n kindred subjects often followedstraight upo n each other on the same parchm ent, andsometimes as m any as twenty compo sed a singlemanuscript, included under a list o f titles numberedas one. In some cases the treatise is descr ibed as a

fragment. Once he writes the seco nd tract is cutout and to be answered fo r .

The owner ’s tastes and pursuits point, of co ur se, toa large representation among his books, of works in

philosophy, alchemy, astro logy and medicine, witha substantial proportion dealing with metallurgy,geometry, optics, physics, Pto lomaic and Copernicanastronomy, and every branch of science already knownin a crude form to Dee ’s famous predecessors . Thereare also historical chronicles wo rks of devo tion and

ethics with a fair spr inkling of authors upon poetry,music, and the gentler arts .Taking first the classics : D ee names the MenoPhaedo and Timaeus o f Plato ; wr itings of Aristotle,Socrates and Hippocrates, Of Cicero, Cato and

Archimedes . A copy Of Pliny’s Mundi H istor ia,

Lib. ii . , printed Frankfort, 1543, no w in the BritishR 2


Museum , bear s D ee’

s signature, Louvain, January,1550 , and many of his notes . Of Euclid he had m anycopies, and Augustine w as his guide and confessor .

A vast number o f Arabic and Persian wr iters werecomprehended in the list. H e w as particularly richin m anuscripts o f the early and mediaeval wr itersupo n alchemy and the philosopher

’s stone : HermesTr ismegistus , Geber , Albertus Magnus , John Sacrobosco , Raym o nd Lully, Philip Alstade, and Arnolddc Villa Nova . Other sciences are represented byGuido Bon

'

atus , Anselmus de Boo t (Boetius), Alhazen,

John of Saxony, Jacob Alk ind, and Petrus Peregr inusand a score of learned wr iter s . Dee ’s o w n perfectand clean copy of the rare pr inted Epistle Of Pere

grinus, upon the Magnet (Augsburg, is now inthe Br itish Museum . It bears his name, Jo annesD ee, 15 64, in faded ink , with m any and copiousnotes w ritten by its owner m ostly in his large copybook hand, with a few in the scribbling wr iting whichhe used fo r speed, and some marginal sketches.Several of the m anuscr ipts named in Dee ’s list

are to be fo und am o ng the Cotton MSS . at the

Museum in Trinity Co llege, Dublin ; and at Oxfordand Cambridge.

1

Of English authors , w ho are very numerous in thelist, the most eagerly sought after , judging by thenumber o f works included by o ne author , wereRoger Bacon and Ro bert Grosseteste, Bishop o f

Lincoln . Bacon’

s writings were ow ned by D ee in

fragments . Some had been already collected and

1 See Halliwell’s no tes to the printed catalogue , Diary, ed.

Camden So c . , pp. 65—87.


speaks o f as lying open in the window o f his study,and therefore in constant use in the actions,

”

whether theurgic o r alchem istic.H e refers no doubt to Agrippa

’s dc Occulta

Philosophia (Cologne ? a work enormouslyread in all c o untr ies in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries , and translated into m any languages.Another bo o k by the alchem ist o f Queen Margareto f the Netherlands had an even greater popularity inEngland , France , Germany and Italy. This w as On

the N obility and E xcellence of the Female Sea:

(denobilitate et p r cecellentiafceminei sewus) which in thetranslatio n by Henry Care in 1670 becom es magnifiedinto Female P r e-eminence or , the D ignity and

E xcellency of that Sen: above the M ale. It isdedicated to Queen Catharine of Braganza .

These are a very few o f the authors and writingscontained in the manuscript catalogue. Such as

they are, however , they give us a faint glimpse intothat realm o f learning and romance wherein D ee,

shut into his library at Mortlake, ro am ed a freecitizen of the world and dwelled where he would.

CHAPTER XX

ADIEU TO COURTS AND COURTING

Let me weepMy youth and its brave hopes , all dead and gone ,

In tea rs which burn Would Iwere sure to w in

Some startling secret in their stead , a tinctur eOf fo rce to flush o ld age with youth , o r breedGo ld, o r imprison m o onbeam s till they changeTo Opal shafts l—only that hurling itIndignant back ,

Im ight convince myselfMy aim s remained suprem e and pur e as ever .

BROWN ING, Paracelsus .

THE immediate result Of the Comm issioners ’ visitto Mortlake w as a gift o f a hundred marks from the

Queen . The Countess o f Warwick sent o ff “ her

gentlem an ,Mr . Jones , very speedily, to tell D ee

that Sir Thomas Go rges had very ho no rably dealtfo r him in the m atter , and that the gift w as granted.

The m oney w as brought next day (December 2)by Sir Thom as him self. H e brought also a letterfull of co urtesie and kindness and a token o f six

old angells Of gold,” from Lady Howard to Janc .

Dee seem s to have becom e intimate with LadyWarwick1 through his early friendship with JohnDudley, Earl o f Warwick, who died, aged twentyfo ur , in 1554. In his Preface to Euclid, D ee has

left an etched portrait o f this friend o f his o w nage. N0 tw o besides him self, says D ee, can

1 A daughter o f the house o f Russell, she married as 3rd wife(1565) Ambro se Dudley, Leicester

’s bro ther .


so well say what roots vertue had fastened in hisbreast, what rules o f godly and honorable life he hadframed to him self, what vices no teable he took greatcare to eschew, what prowesses he purposed and

meant to achieve.

”

Dee ’s few lynes o f thankfulness to the Queenfo r her gift were probably wr itten at once, but onlydelivered by Lady Warw ick on February 15 , at

Hampton Court, on the eve Of a mo ve to SomersetHouse .

O n the strength of this dole, D ee w as able to

settle som e pressing debts , and to hire a coach and

go Off with his wife and Arthur and Kate, to spendChr istmas and N ew Year ’ s D ay at Tooting, at Mr .

R . Luresey his howse .

”The Lord Treasurer , he

reports, lay dangerously sick at the time. O n the

2nd they returned. O n the 7th , welcome letters,perhaps contain ing money, arr ived from Count Laskiin Livonia, to which D ee replied on the 2oth,

sending his letter by a Danish ship called the J ohn

of D anslc.

His reputation as an astro nom er and mathema

tician now procured fo r D ec a pupil, from whom he

w as to receive in exchange a considerable gift o r loan .

March 17, 1593. At six after none received fromMr . Francis Nicholls £15 , part o f one hundred pounds,the rest whereof, £85 , is to be reccyvcd fr om Mr .

Nicholls within a fortnight after the annunciation ofO ur Lady next ; and after that in the beginn ing o f

June £100 , and in Julie the third hundred pounds ,and I am to teach him the conclusion of fixing and

tcyming o f the moon .

A rather unwise purchase seem s to have been madethis May ; D ec bought the next mansion house,


taking Mrs . D ee and Kather ine, who at twelve w as

sufficiently grown up to dine o ut. O n the 28th he

w as all day with the Lord Keeper . The entr ies w ehave here, Mr . W eb and the philosopher cam e as Iw as with the Lord Keeper , and Mr . W eb and the

philosopher cam again ,

”

pique one’ s cur io sity.

At the end Of the m o nth, D ec notes the departurefrom his service uppon no due cause known to me,

o f Elizabeth Kyrton , a servant who had been w ithhim twelve years , had passed through the vicissitudesof travel-life in Bohem ia, as Rowland

’

s nur se ; left incharge of him , as w e have seen , in Cracow when theothers went on to Prague. She had served five yearson apprenticeship and seven fo r wages : five at fourand two at five nobles a year . Of her wages therew as no w four pounds four shillings due . D ee in

paying her , presented a new half-angel ; Janc D ee

gave her another ; Arthur half-a-crown fo r him and

his brother (Row land ), and Katherine the like sum

fo r herself and Madinia . Elizabeth’s going seem s tohave upset the domestic arrangements , fo r a montho r so later D ee makes an unusual entry about hisw ife “Jane m o st desperately angry in respect of hermaydes. Margery Thornton , Elizabeth

’s successor ,left next day , and Dorothy Legg cam e fo r 3os. yearly.

A messenger from Laski arrived, Mr . CornelioCamaiere, and stayed a week. These constant communications do no t by any m eans support thecontention that Laski parted with Dee in anger ,

ruined by his costly experiments. It is more probable that Laski w as urging him to return and

continue Kelley’s work.

ADIEU TO COURTS AND COURTING 251

The Countess Of Cumberland, Lord Willoughbyand his sister , the Countess of Kent, came to visitDee. Willoughby dined and next day sent him £20 .

Dee w as annoyed by Mr . Gray, the Lady Cumberland’s preacher , his wrangling and denying and

despising alchemichall philosophers . A N ew Year ’sgift of 20 angels , in a new red velvet purse, came toJane D ee from the Lord Keeper .

Michael Peiser , doctor to the Duke o f Brandenburg , visited

l

D ee , also Walter Van der Laen ,

astronomer of great prom ise. Mr . John Aske sent asa present tw o little double gilt bowls, weighingthirteen ounces and a half. Sir Thomas Willesoffer philosophical cam to my hands , by Mr . MorriceKiffen . The children , Madinia and Theodore ,were no t very well. Several visits were paid to

Mr . Webbe, who had been in the Marshalsea prisonsince the days before Chr istm as. His chests and

boxes were scaled up . It is possible he w as the

Mr . Wehbe who w as emplo yed by the Queen to

visit and report on Dyer and Kelley at Prague . H e

may even have been suspected o f bringing some ofKelley’s manufactured gold to D ec . Bartho lomewHickman and his bro ther were a good deal to and

fro Bartholomew w as first brought to D ec as a lad

by his uncle, in 1578 , with an introduction fromSir Christopher Hatton . N o w , his daughter Janew as taken into service. D ee gave him a nag that theLord Keeper had presented, and he rode frequentlyhomeward,

”to Shugborough in Warwickshire. In

December , 1594, D ec“

preferred him to LordWilloughby’s service at the Barbican, and there is


a whole history about his livery, which w as orderedfr om ~a Fleet Street tailor , M r . Jonson .

D ee’

s health w as no w often affected in o ne w ay o r

another . The first mention of trouble in the kidneysw as in 1592 , when , at Court at Greenwich, a midnight seizure w as eased by a glyster ,

1applied by

D r . Giffard. There were other slight attacks , and inMarch, 15 94, he had a

Great fit of stone in my left kidney : but I drunka draught o f w hite wyne and salet o yle, and afterthat, crabs

’

eyes in powder with the bone in the carp’

s

head, and about four o f the clo ck I did eat to sted

cake buttered, and w ith sugar and nutmeg o n it, anddrunk tw o great draughts o f ale with it ; and Ivo yded within an hour much water and a stone as

big as an Alexander seed. God be thanked ! Fiveshillings to Robert W eb part o f his wages .

”

This servant w as discharged o n June 23 with fortyshillings fo r a full satisfaction o f all things . On

July 1 , I gave Robert yet m ore, a French crown fo r afar well.A year and a half passed after the visit of theComm issio ners , and beside the immediate result of adonation Of a hundred marks, no thing had accrued tobetter Dee ’s position . H e determ ined then toredouble his efforts and bring something to pass . H e

certainly had enlisted the aid o f pow erful friends,although no doubt there were still many suspiciousenemies .O n May 3, 1594, the Queen sent fo r him to come

to her in the privy garden at Greenwich, between six

1 An early fo rm of enema, made from the bladder of a sheep.


down to that big rambling place by the r iverside, withwhose stills and furnaces, and wonderful doings,rumour w as s o rife. So much fo r privacy, next fo reco nomy. Fuel, coals, br icks, and all things necessary fo r his purpose, will be cheaper at Winchesterthan near London ; the glass-houses Of Sussex are

no t far away, and he will be able to give personalsupervision to the mak ing o f special vessels . AtMortlake there are to o many eyes and tongues . The

south coast is within easy reach, and it will be

possible to communicate with his friends abroad, to

get over things and workers necessary, and have themore commodious place fo r the secret arr ival o f

special men to come unto me there at St. Crosses ;some of which men would be loath to be seen o r

heard of publickly in Court o r City. Is it possiblethat he is still thinking of Kelley, who, though then

(1592 ) an Emperor’s favourite and the bearer o f a

title, co uld easily in England be identified withTalbot the coiner , forger , and necromancer o f former

days 7

Then D ee sets out in his R ehear sall the capacityOf the dwelling at St. Cro ss, which is roomy enoughto entertain rare and excellent men from all parts ofthe world, as well as any of his fellow-countrymen.

This will be fo r the honour and credit o f England.

There is room’

also fo r lodging his staff of mechanicalassistants ; fo r a pr inting ho use to be set up fo rreproducing good, rare, and antient bo okes in Greek

and Latin , and som e Of my o w n , to be printedw ith my ow n o rder ing and oversight.

” Then he laysstress upon the desirable surroundings , a chapel where


divine service is held every day , fo r br inging up hischildren and fam ily devoutly. H e ends with the

advantages of Winchester School, clo se at hand, no tonly fo r his four sons to becom e Grammar ians in ,

but fo r his Obtaining help from the good Greek and

Latin Grammar ians and fair wr iter s in that schoo l,fo r copying o ut books fo r H er Majesty.

He is teem ing w ith all these projects and activitiesin spite o f his sixty-five years . H e w as a bornlibrarian ; and still had a national library of booksand manuscripts at heart as much as when , nearlyforty year s before, he had tr ied in vain to induceQueen Mary to found one.

D ee’

s eloquent persuasions so far prevailed with theQueen that a draft w as prepared before the end o f

May, granting to Lord Cobham the next advowsonof Holyrood, o r St. Cross, at Winchester , in the

Queen ’s gift, to present to John D ee , M .A. , on the

death o r resignation Of D r . Robert Benn ett, the

present incumbent.1

Having drawn up this very full account of hisdoings and writings, to present to the Commissioners,D ee w as naturally anxio us that the appeal should beas widespread and far -reaching as possible . Archbishop Whitgift had shown him self favourablyinclined, and D ec determ ined to approach him witha copy o f that part o f the R ehear sall in which herecited the titles o f the books he had wr itten . He

prepared a L etter containing a br ief D iscour se

ap ologeticall w ith a p laine D emonstr ation andfervent

1 Cal. State Pap . D ow ,1594, p. 5 13. The day o f the month in

May is left blank .


pr o testation for the lawful sincer e and very faithfuland chr istian cour se of the philosophicall studies and

exer cises of a cer taine studious gentleman , an ancient

servant to her mostexcellentMaj esty R oyall, addressedto the Archbishop ; he pro bably presented it him selfdur ing this summer Of 1595 . It is a protest and an

appeal, and emphatically states that from his youthup he has used good honest lawful and Christianm eans to attain such knowledge as shall honour God,his country and his Q ueen . It ends with a prayerthat he may be found Of the Ar chbishop, and nu

do ubtedly acknowledged by the w ise and just, tohave been a zealous and faithful student in the schoolo f Ver ity and an ancient Graduate in the school ofCharity.

O n June 3, Dee and Jane, accompanied by all theirseven children , four boys and three girls , their agesranging from Arthur , the Westminster boy of fifteen,

to Frances, the baby of tw o and a half, presentedthem selves before the Queen at Sion House, Isleworth. Jane w as permitted to kiss her hand.

Evidently this w as an expression of thanks fo r theofficial preliminaries o f the grant o f St. Cross . The

Archbishop w as present, and D ec humbly requestedhim to come to his cottage. The invitation w as

repeated on the 6th , when D ee supped with the

Primate. Things were no t, however , settled soquickly. D r. Robert Bennett had to be providedwith a better position before he would resign ; somehitch occurred, and on June 29 , after a visit to theArchbishop, at Croydon , the poor man writes distractedly of his broken hopes

25 8 LIFE OF DR . JOHN DEE

his case before the Council, o r else have a licenceunder the Great Sea] to go where he would . St.Cross w as farther o ff than ever ; England cold andinhospitable ; and he prepared to say a final good-byeto courts and courting at home, and betake him self toGermany, o r Austria, o r some other land. FrancisGarland arr ived on December 2 from Prague, justas I cam e five year s ago to a day from Bremen toEngland.

” Little profit indeed had he reaped in thatfive year s .O n the 7th, Janc delivered her supplication with

her o w n hand to the Queen , as she passed out of thepr ivy garden at Somerset House, to go to dinnerwith Sir Thomas Heneage at the Savoy.” Elizabethhanded the letter to the Lord Admiral, but took itagain from him , and kept it on her cushion . The

next day , the Lord Adm iral and Lord Buckhurstreminded her of the matter ; presently she told theArchbishop that she wished D ee to have D r . Day’s

place Of Chancellor at St. Paul’s . 8th D ec. The

Chancellorship presented . The Archbishop o f Canterbury willing , he wr ites ; but this w as apparentlyanother castle in the air , fo r D r . William D ay w as

no t appointed Bishop of Winchester till a year later ,November 23, 1595, and although Dee ’s nameappears as Chancellor under the date of December 8 ,

he seem s never to have held office.

His friends, however , were no t idle. In a month’stime, January 3, Archbishop Whitgift w as recom

mending Elizabeth to grant him the Wardenship of

1 Le Neve, Fasti, vol. ii. , 361 .


Christ’ s College, Manchester , in her ow n gift.D r .Wil]iam Chadderton , who w as then Warden and

Bishop of Chester , w as to be promoted to the see ofLincoln , and here w as an opening fo r D ec. O n

February 5 , Sir John Wolley endeavoured to get herto sign the patent fo r his appointment, but she

deferred it D ee w as up and down to London fromMortlake, and on February 10 , at two in the after

noon, he toke a cut-purse taking his purse o ut of hispocket in the Temple.

”O n April 18 , the Queen did

sign the bill, when it w as Offered her by Dee’s friendand neighbour at Mortlake, John Herbert, Master ofthe Requests . O n May 25 , 26 , 27 , it passed the

Signet, the Pr ivy Seal, and the Great Seal1

and, as a

climax to this entry in the diary, D ee adds, £3 12s .

borrowed o f my brother Arnold,” 1 doubtless to pay

the fees.The Earl o f Derby gave him letters of introduction ,

and he w as soon in correspondence with OliverCarterhine of the Fellows ; w ith Thomas William s ,another ; and with Mr . Goodier , lessee o f the tithesbelonging to the Warden and Fellows . Carter and

William s were already at law with each other , andsoon were both to be at loggerheads with D ee and

his laudable desires to set the tangled affairs o f thecollege straight. Carter w as one of the moderators

1 Cal. Sta te Pap er s, 1595- 7, p. 45 . The patent, dated May 26 in

the Queen ’

s nam e, gives h er beloved and faithful servant JohnDee, M.A., Clerk , the place o f Warden with all rights, whetherpresent o r absent .

2 Perhaps Arno ld w as Jane Dee’

s bro ther, but, as befo re no ticed,

Dee frequently uses the term .


of the monthly lecture in Manchester , had greatinfluence, and seem s to have been unprepared towelcome a Warden o f Dee ’s reputation.

J uly Sl st. The Countess o f Warwick did thisevening thank her Majestic in my name, and fo r me,fo r her gift Of the Wardenship o f Manchester . She

toke it gratiously and w as sorry that it w as so farfrom hense, but that some better thing neer handshall be fow nd fo r me ; if o ppo rtunitic o f timewould serve, her Majestic wold speak with me herself.I had a bill m ade by Mr . Wood, one o f the clerkso f the Signet, fo r the first frutes forgiving by herMajestie.

So at length there w as something tangible in

prospect. Things had to be settled up at Mortlakeand preparations made fo r the journey northward.

We may be sure that Dee’s gratification at receiving

a post o f some sort, after a lifetime o f waiting, w asmixed with regret at quitting the place that hadbeen his home fo r so long. His yong coosen, J ohnAubrey, came in May to recreate him selffo r a while,

”

and stayed nearly a month.

On August 14, Jane’s youngest child, a girl, w as

born . She w as baptised at Mo rtlake as MargaretD ee on the afternoon o f August 27 godfather , theLord Keeper ; godmothers, the Countesses o f Cumberland and Essex, all thr ee represented by deputy.

The Countess Of Essex w as W alsingham’

s onlydaughter and heir . She had been Sidney’s widow,and w as now married to Essex .

D ee w as now entertained often by Lord Derby atRussel] House, once to meet some German guests .

WH ICH FIER M US I‘ EVER BE COEQUALL

IN EVERY M IN U 'I E , AND YET PE RPETUALL ;

FO R IT MAY N EVER ABATE NE INCREASE ,

AND YET THE FIER MAIE N EVER CEAsE

THOMAS N ORTO N The O ra/ma ll qf Alchz‘

my .

ADIEU TO COURTS AND COURTING 26 1

On October 9 he dined w ith Sir Walter Raleighat Durham Place. This palace in the Strand hadseen m any vicissitudes before it had been given to

Raleigh by the Queen . Originally the residence , o f

the northern bishops, it had been seized by an earlierking. Lady Jane Grey had been wedded there .

Her too ambitious father—in-law had gone thence tothe Tower and the scaffold. Catholic plots againstElizabeth had been hatched by Spaniards in this ,her o wn house, and now the great seaman,

freshfrom far Guiana, w as housed in a little turret, overlooking the river and the ships .D ec w as anxious to reclaim , before going to his

new home, an Arabic book lent to some fr iend inOxford. H e had wr itten to Mr . Harding and Mr .

Abbott several times fo r its return about a year and

a half before . Now, on October 20 , he sent his man

Richard Walkden to Oxford to find and br ing it.The m an returned from a fruitless errand, but o nNovember 19 my Arabic book w as restored byGod’s favour .

” His gratitude expressed itself in a

practical manner to the trusted Richard

I delivered unto Richard W alkedyne my man ,

Mr . Robert Thomas his fustian dubblet, fo r 10

shillings o f his wages. I gave him more when hew as to r ide down with my wife : 10s . , whereof 6s. 4d.

w as due to him that he had layd o ut fo r me. The

other 3s . 6d. w as Of his wages .

A portion of goods and furniture had already beendespatched towards Manchester by a carr ier namedPercival], and o n the 26th Jane and her children all

set o ff by coach towards Coventry, a usual half-w ay


halting place on the high-ro ad to Lancashire , A lastpiece o f business w as transacted o n December 23with John Norton,

stationer , to whom D ee Owedmoney, perhaps fo r printing I payd him ten

pownds in hand and w as bound in a recognisancebefore Doctor Hone fo r the payment o f the rest,£10 yearly, at Christmas, and Midsummer £5 , tyll£53 14s. 8d. more were paid.

”The same day he

received £30 in par t payment of £100 fo r the houseat Mortlake, w hich he had lent to Mr . Paget.


plundered, sold o r leased, she herself becom ing a

sharer in the profits o f spoliation until there w as

hardly any clear property left. At the instance o f

Dean N owell, an inquiry w as instituted, w ith theresult that the college w as granted a new charter in1 578 , as Chr ist

’s College, to consist Of aWarden, fourFellows, and two chaplains, with choristers . Nowelland Oliver Carter were two o f the first Fellows.The second Warden w as D r . Chadderton, who hadbeen Leicester ’s chaplain , and w as Bishop Of Chester.

Under him the Catholics were relentlessly per secuted,Manchester prisons were filled, and the famousMarprelate printing press w as discovered and seized.

Chadderton’s promotion to the see o f Lincoln in

1595 made an Opening fo r our persistent place-beggarto be disposed of at last.D ee arrived in Manchester on Monday afternoon,February 15 , 1596 , and took up his abode in the

college . O n the following Saturday he w as in stalledin the Wardenship, between nine and eleven O’clock,as he tells us. H e has unfortunately left no accountOf the ceremony. His fir st business w as to become

acquainted with the tenants of the college lands, andthe owners o f tithes which constituted its revenue.

O n April 2, he says Sir John Byron and his son,

Mr . John Byron, dined with him at the college.

This family, although Newstead had been acquir edsome forty o r fifty years previously, were still oftenresident on their Lancashire estates. Clayton , near

Manchester , w as in fact then their chief residence.

A little later in the month, D ee records the courtskept fo r the manor o f Newton, in Manchester parish,

MANCHESTER 265

of which the Warden and Fellows were lords . The

Dean and Canons, the present representatives ofWarden and Fellows, still hold a court leet twicea year fo r this manor .

There is an interesting letter from D ec to RobertBruce Cotton , the antiquary, dated in May this year ,throwing light on his relations w ith the people in hisemploy— copyists, assistants o r apprentices .

1 H e had

brought w ith him from Mortlake Antony Cowley,w ho had formerly been in Cotton ’s service. D ee

w as anxious to know if he had departed from the

employ o f his late master with his good will .

Truely,.

fo r my part, I will receyve none to mysimple service (man o r wom an ) unleas t they comefrom theyr Masters o r Mistresses with theyr wellliking o f suche their departure from them . Therfo rc,I wold, by this bearer , gladly receyve your answerherein , by word o f mouth o r by your letter . Andso shall I be free from all offence giving to yourworship, o r any els in this cause : as I am m ost freefrom coveting, desyring o r longing after my neighbour ’s wife o r any servant o f his . If I m ight havea thousand po unds to sollicite o r procure any mans

servant to forsake his master o r m istress, and to

come to me o r any other , I wold no t do it, Go d

knowes .

In about three weeks D ee received a reply to thisconsiderate letter , evidently no t entirely satisfactory,fo r on June 3 he paid Antony Cowley 2os . and

discharged him . Next day Antony went fo rthearly from my house, I kn ow no t whither .

”

D ee now began to direct his whole attention to1 Co tton MS , J ul. C. iii. , f. 136 ; Ellis, Letter s, p. 87 .


his charge : the college and the college lands . Aroyal commission w as appointed to sit and examineits internal affairs . O n June 18 the commissionfo r the college w as sent to London to be engrossedin the Duchy Office D ee w as a layman ; he hadalways stipulated he should have no cure Of soulsattached to whatever bencfice he might hold. Fo r

the daily services at Manchester b e employed a

succession o f curates (mostly unsatisfacto ry) , to whomhe paid wages 503. fo r thr ee m onths . H e w as far

m o re interested in the temporal than the spiritualwelfare o f his college, and indeed his desire fo r suchan appointment seems rather to have been solelyprompted by the selfish, if necessary, wish fo r an

income and m eans to pur sue his o w n studies in peace.

H e w as to find neither in Manchester .

In June he received a Visit from Mr . Harry Savile,the antiquary, of the Bank, Halifax , and by him he

sent a request to Christopher Saxton , o f Dunninglcy,

near Halifax , to come and arrange a survey o f the

town o f Manchester , and consult about the parishboundar ies . Saxton w as a well-known character ofthe time, the holder o f a patent from the Queen,

whose arm s appear upon the maps he made o f the

three counties o f Chester , York and Lancaster .

They were the first maps of Britain made fromactual survey, and had been issued as an atlas in1579 , most o f the maps having been engraved in1577 . His visits to D ec lasted over three weeks ;notes are entered o f his measur ing the township andVisiting Hough Hall, the seat Of Nicholas Mosely,the Lancashire clothier who, tw o . o r three years later ,


no w turned farmer , getting a sm all drove of seventeenhead Of cattle up from his kinsfolk in Wales to grazethe pasture. They were brought up by the courteous Gr iffith David, nephew to Mr . ThomasGriffith, and were a present.

”D ee had to Visit Sir

John Byron about the college tenants

Who pretended that w e have part ofFaylesw o rth

Common within our Newton Heath, which cannotbe proved , I am sure. W e w er agreed that JamesTraves (being his bayly) and Francis Nutthall, hisservant fo r him , sho ld with me under stand all cir cumstances, and so duly to proceed.

”

The close o f the year w as marked by an episodewhich might have gone far towards clearing D ee

’

s

character from the aspersions still being cast uponhim. Nowhere w as superstition and belief inwitchcraft more prevalent than in Lancashire, and

in November and December of this year he seemsto have been applied to fo r advice as regards a

woman and seven children, said to have become

demoniacally possessed through the influence of oneHartley, a conjurer . Dee ’s curate, MatthewPalmer , happened to go in as Hartley w as prayingover the woman in a fit. H e demanded what hew as doing.

Praying.

’

Thou pray ! thou canst no t pray,’ quoth he.

‘What

prayer canst thou say 7’

None,’ saith he, but the Lord

’s Prayer .

’

Say it,’ quoth he, the which as I remember , he

could no t say .

”

D ee utterly refused to meddle w ith the affair ,

MANCHESTER 269

and advised the father to consult with godlyc

preachers and appoint a private fast . Perhaps heremembered that when he asked, long before, if hehad done well concerning Isabel Lister , vexed of awicked spirit, the angel ’s reply had been Friend, itis no t of thy charge. He sent fo r Hartley, and sosharply rebuked him that the children had more casefo r three weeks after . The devils were finallyexorcised by a godly preacher , John Darrell, o r , as

w e suspect, by the children’s release from Hartley ’s

attentions, who w as hanged soon after . Dee’s library,a good part o f which he must have moved to Man

chester , w as constantly in request at this time. Itw as r ich in books on demonology and possession , and

Lancashire justices o f the peace w ho had to dealwith these cases o f witchcraft brought before themseem to have resorted to such works, fo r and

against the persecution and annihilation Of witches,as the D e P r aestig us D aemonum (Basle, 1566 ) o f

John Wier , the Eustis D aemonum a

D aemonum of the monk H ierom Menghi (Frankfort 1582, Boulogne All these D ee recordslending to Mr . Edmund Hopwood, o f Hopwood,a deputy—lieutenant and ecclesiastical comm issioner ,as well as a J.P . Wier o r Weier w as very likelyknown to D ec at Louvain . H e w as one o f the

earliest apologists fo r these unfortunate folk, and

pleaded that, their brains being disordered bymelancholy, they merited pity, no t punishment.His book co ntain s the first account o f The PiedPiper o f Hamelin, from the archives o f the

town o f Hameln . A Spanish grammar w as lent to


Mr . Barlow fo r his son . Mr . Matthew Hetou w as

the borrower of theological works , including the

Concordantiae B ibliorum (1555 ) o f Robert Stephens ,the illustrio us printer of the N ew Testament ; and a

Calvinistic treatise, D e Coena D omini, written byD r . Pezel, who had , w e remember, commemoratedDee’s depar ture from Bremen in 1589 by verses.D ec lent H eto n books, but H eton lent D ee ten

pounds on a bill o f hand. To John Cho lmeley I

lent my Latyn boke in 8vo , D e M or bis Infantum.

The disputes and diffi culties over tithes and landsb elonging to the college naturally affected the

Warden ’s income, and D ec found him self compelledto borrow small sum s as before. Finally he w as

reduced to raise money o n his plate, and especiallyo n the handsome double gilt tankard, with a cover ,which w as the christening gift o f the Countess ofHertford to her god-daughter Frances. It weighed22 ounces, and D ec tells how he delivered it toCharles Leigh, o ne of the college singing men,

tolay in pawn in his o w n name with Robert W elsham ,

the goldsm ith, till within two days after May-day

next. My daughter Katherine and Jo hn Crocker

[the Old servant], and I myself [John D ee], were at

the delivery o f it and waying o f it, in my dyningchamber . It w as wrapped in a new handkerchercloth. All that Was obtained o n the tankard w as

£4 of the current value.

In the spring of 1597 , D ec records, on May 4, the

last of the Rogation days of the year , a very

1 Perhaps De Morbis Puerorwm, by Hieronymus Mercurialis,Venice , 1583.


topographer and mathematician he has given a highlyvaluable record

1597.

“May 4. I with Sir Robert Barber , curate,and Robert Tilsley , clerk OfManchester parish church,with diverse o f the town of diverse ages, went inPerambulation to the bownds o f Manchester parishbegan at the Leeless Birchc against Prestwicke parish,and so had vew o f the thre corner stake, and thendown tyllMr . Standysh new enclosure on Thelmo re,

w her w e stayed, and vew ed the stak e yet standingin the back o f the dich ; [it] being from the cornereleven measures of Mr . Standley’s stik , then in

his hand, and 2 fote more ; which stik I did measureafterward, and it did conteyn in length feet 6 , yuch 3.

The total mesure fete 69 , ynchcs 9 . At which placec low, servant to Mr . Ashton o f Chaderton ,

didmeet us . The survey geometrical] o f the verycir cuits of Manchester par ish w er ended in this, beingthe sixth day o f my work folks doings .” 1

In the Chetham Library is a ho lograph letter fromD ec to the rector o f Prestw ich, William Langley,dated tw o days before this perambulation, informinghim o f the project fo r m aking a chart o f the parishbounds, and inviting him,

As one side o f our par ish in Thiclmo re dothborder uppon some parts o f your parish o f Prestw iche,to request some one o r tw o Of the auncient o f yourpar ish to be allso beholder s o f our bounds, notifying

1 In the diary as edited by the Camden So ciety this passage ismisread, and the mo st ridiculous n onsense about Kentish feetand com e stacks is printed . These lo ca l landmarks are

“ leeless bench,” and the Low .

! Bo th are doubtless long since

swallowed up in streets, but the Leeless Birch pro bably existedmany years after Dee’s death. Thelmo re is now the White Mo ss.

MANCHESTER 273

toward your parish in that place. My neighbour s dointend to come o n W ensday next, in the m orningabout 9 o r 10 of the clo k , to that part that is byGoodman Smehearst

’

s house, and so toward the

birche tree that is called the L eeless Byr che, and

thereabouts, fo r a little space to beggyn the vew ofthe bownds and mercs of Manchester par ish : by theo rder o f an enjoyned work by the higher powres, fo ravoyding Of undue encroaching of any neighbour ly

parish one on the other . Yo u understand me

suffi ciently well, I dowt no t. Pardon my boldnessso bluntly to bo rde yo u w ith so homely a sute.

Your w urships sincereWellwisher in Chr iste,

JOHN D EE , Warden.

John Crocker and several other men were o ccupiedfo r some weeks in marking the boundaries of themanor they met with extraordinary opposition fromthe landowners, and on June 14 D ee alludes to a riotthat took place at Newton , Captain Bradley and

others endeavouring to hinder the college employeesin their labour . What with opposition abroad and

diffi culties with his curate at home, D ee w as findingthe coveted appointment no bed of roses. H e

records another o f his characteristic dream s— the

dream s o f a bibliophile, to whom his books are

treasures as dear almost as his children

This night I had the Vision and shew o f manybokes in my dream e, and am ong the rest w as o ne

great volume, thik, in large quarto, new printed, onthe fir st page whereof as a title in great letter s w as

printed N otus in J udcea D eus.

1 Many other books1 The title of the 75th Psalm .


m ethought I saw , new printed , Of very strangeargum ents . I lent Mr . Edmund Hopwood o f H opwood my Malleus Maleficarum to use till N ew Year

’

styde next, a short thik Old boke, with tw o clasps,pr inted anno 15 17 .

It w as now early August. So Hopwood, who w as

bent o n m aster ing the subject of witchcraft, w as tohave about four m onths to study The H ammer forl/Vitches, a bo ok fir st issued in 1489 , after the Bullagainst so rcery of Pope Innocent VIII . , by the threeso rcery inquisitor s . It w as translated into German,

H exenhammer , and formed the text-book of procedure against witches in Germany. Its authorsgive emphasis to their learned Observation that witchcraft is m ore natural to women than men , because ofthe inherent wickedness of their hearts 1 In mediaevaltimes there appeared, alas Ino safe and inconspicuous

path fo r ordinary women . The entire sex consistedapparently of either angels o r devils.O n a Sunday in August, D ee entertained the Earl

and Countess o f Derby at a banket at my lodgingat the College, hora 41. They had newly takenup their residence at Alport Park, which had beenthe college property before the dissolution Of them onasteries. It is now in the heart o f the city,somewhere near the Midland Railway works .There w as scant time fo r literary labours am id so

much entertaining topographical work and litigationbut in September D ee sent to his former fr iend, nowSir Edward Dyer , a treatise he had some timewr itten o n The Queen ’s Title Royal and Sea

Sovereignty in St. Georges Channel and all the


them . SO hard and thynne a dyet, never , in all mylife, did I , nay w as I forced, so long to use : Neythcr didever any household servants o f myne have so slenderallowance at their Table . And yet all that hath no tSO much pynched m e inwardly as the cares and

cumber s fo r the college affaires have done, fo r theyhave altered, yea barred and stayed my whole courseo f life, and bereaved me o f my so m any yeres contynued Jo yes, taken in my most esteemed studiesand exercises.But as it pleaseth the king of heven and earthe

thus to deale with m e : SO I beseche him to givem e grace to like best of this his long leading of me

per multas tr ibulationes. And Beside all the rest,This encreaseth my gr ief : that I know no o ne as

yet Of her Mane“ m ost honorable Pr ivy Co unsaile,

who willingly and com fortably will listen untomy pitiful] complainte and Declaration : H ow thisCo lledg of Manchester is almost become N0College, in any respect ; I say in any respect, fo rI can verifie my wordes to [O] m anifestly. Butwhy do I cumber yr w urship (thus abruptlie) w ithsuch my co lledg cumbers ? Pardon me, I prayyo u , the pang o f my myndc, half amazed, whenthe multitude o f these cumbers and Of t he con

fused and intr icate causes o f this Colledge, dorussh at once into my fantazie. But

, undow tedly,either God will give me grace sufficient and send me

m ighty help (temp ore opp or tune) to end them, o r

else they will help to hasten my deliverance fromthese and all other vayne and earthly Actionshumayne.

Sir , how well (and that hartily) no t onely I , butmy paynq Jane, and my children Of discretion,

allso do, at God’s bandes, wish unto yr w urship, you

my easyly gesse, fo r it is our duetie.

And so, I beseche your w urship undow tedly to

MANCHESTER 277

perswade your selfe of us . Manchester , September 8 ,A° 1597.

Yo r w urships in fidelitie and sinceritie ,

“ JOHN D EE .

A new steward of the college w as appointedHumphrey Davenport, who afterwards became ChiefBaron o f the Exchequer , and as such deliveredjudgment upon ship m oney in H ampden

’

s case.

Very few allusions to domestic and fam ily mattersoccur in the diary fo r these Manchester years, but inNovember , 1597 an accident is recorded to Arthur ,w ho w as at home fo r a time. H e w as amusinghimself by fencing with Edward Arno ld, one o f

D ee’

s men and his usual messenger to London , whenthe foyne o r thrust of the rapier o f his Opponentdamaged his left eye. The lad w as no w about seventeen, probably already entered at Christ Church,Oxford.

Correspondence with friends in London , as D r .

Julio, a well-known physician of the time, and

D r . Cmsar (afterwards Sir Julius Cae sar and Mastero f the Rolls) , both of Italian origin ,

sometimesrelieved the VVarden

’

s tedious and tiresome disputesw ith the Fellows, the tenants and the tithe ownerso f the college.

To Caesar , as Master of the Requests , D ec wroteon October 2 , 1596 , o n behalf o fWilliam Nicholson ,

about an action he had brought against two perso nsfo r enclosing m oor and m ine land at Reddish. Som e

idea of the lawless proceedings o f the time m ay be

1 General and Rar e Memo rials, Brit. Museum , C. 2 1,c. 12 .


gathered from D ee’

s description o f the injuries theplaintiff had received in having his barns pulleddown and his co rn and hay, to the quantitic of a

great number of loads, cast o ut of doors, whichsom e of my family beheld.

”

D ec adds pointedly : Ishall be forced ere it be long to fly to your directionand help in causes Judicia and ends by a referenceto Caesar ’s recent marr iage, six months earlier , to aManchester lady (Alice, daughter o f Chr istopherGreen) God bless you and your new Joye.

”1

Oliver Carter w as more troublesome than ever , andlawsuits were instituted by the Warden both againsthim and George Birch, another o f the Fellows . On

Sunday, September 25 , D ee wr ites : Mr . OliverCarter , his impudent and evident disobedience in

the church. There w as evidently a scene, thoughno t, as M r . Halliwell has it, caused by Carter ’sdissoluteness in the church. There w as no house

fo r the Warden , but the fines of the Fellows fo rabsence were by the last charter to be devotedto its provision . If they did no t pay, D ee had tomeet the rent himself. 2 At the beginning o f 1598

there were four lawsuits o n the Warden ’s hands,but he records that he stayed them all, fo r

one cause o r ano ther , one until Sir John Byr o n re

turned . In January the college gate and a largepiece of the wall fell down at m idnight, so there wererepairs to be made. He had a letter from John

1 Lansdo 'wne MSS . , clviii. , f. 16 ; Ma/nchester Diary, ed . Bailey,p. 93.

2 The house w as no t provided fo r a century,when the co llege

w as taken fo r a ho spital.

CHAPTER XXII

COLLEGE AFFA IRS

I came am ong a people w ho relied much on dreams. And Ito ld them except they could distinguish between dream and dreamthey would mash o r confound all together . Fo r there were threeso rts of dream s . Fo r multitude of business som etim es causeddream s ; and there were whisperings o f Satan in m an in the

night season ; and there were speakings of God to man in

dreams .—GEORGE Fo x, J ourna l.

THE Warden w as apparently absent fr om his

charge at Manchester fo r tw o years and a quarter ,between March, 1598 , and June, 1600 . When heresumed his diary to chronicle his return, it appearedthat he had been very busy in London , arranging fo ra special comm ission to sit in the college chapterhouse, to inquire into encroachments made upon themanor o f Newton. His wife and two elder sons,Arthur and Rowland Mary Nicholls, daughter o f hiso ld friend and pupil, Francis Nicholls ; all travelledwith him from London . What became o f the

younger children w e can only guess . The party set

o ut o n the l oth and arrived in Manchester o n June 18 .

Row land w as then seventeen, a Grammar Schoolboy o n Bishop Oldham

’s foundation in Manchester .

Early in the following December , he obtained an

exhibition at Oxford from the school. D ee, as

Warden, w as charged with certain offi cial Visits o f

inspection o f the Grammar School, and w as by no

COLLEGE AFFAIRS 281

means always pleased with the result. H e says, fo rinstance, on August 5 of this year , I visited theGrammar Scho le, and fow nd great imperfectio ns inall and every o f the scho lers, to my great grief.

” Ofan earlier visit he says it w as to see to the ower ,&c. , fo r Mr . H eton, i.e. , to see the clock.

D ee had almost completed his seventy-third year ,and had m aintained his bodily strength on the wholeremarkablywell. This summer he observed that fo r thefirst time in his life his pulse assumed the well-knownsymptom o f interm ittent beating , o r pulsation . Withall his usual exactitude, he records that his pulse kepton m issing a pulsation after the fifth, o r the seventh,o r eleventh beat, although it w as fo r the rest strongand equal H e m entio ns a great m any sleeplessnights . Nocte Am aritudo m ea ,

” Circa m ediamno ctem Amaritudo m ea,

”are entr ies that occur with

some frequency. O n July 7, he says, This morning ,

as I lay in my bed, it came into my fantasy to writea boke D e daf er entz

'

z'

s quibusdam co rp orum et

spir ituum. His views o n this subject wo uld havebeen profoundly interesting , but the book remaineda fantasy . H is dream s are again sometimes noted .

If they are no t abo ut books, they concerned thatlong-frustrated hope of his life, that he m ightactually one day, and by no fraud o r trickery, stumbleon the secret which Kelley had professed to know.

By this time, D ee must have been assured of Kelley’sknavery, and yet his faith in the possibilities ofalchemy rem ained unshaken to the end . I had a

dream after m idnight, he says, o f my enjoying andWorking o f the philosopher

’s stone, with other . My


dream w as after m idnight, toward day . Alas thispleasure he w as never to enjoy in the flesh. Nextnight : I dreamed that along betw ene Aldgate and

the postern on Tower Hill did m en stand in a lane,with pikes in theyr hands, as though m ore shouldcome to them, o r that they w ayted fo r somebody.

But theyr regard and looking w as directly to Y“

Towre, where certeyn great personages dyd stand ;and o ne o f them as upon a stage did declare with aloud voice to the pikemen, m atter o f importance,very loud.

The description of the topography of his dream,

given by this Londoner bo rn , is very exact. The

gate o f Aldgate, taken down in 1606 , w as the

eastern postern of the City, no t far from St.Botolph

’s Church. So the lane o f pikemen w as a

very long one, o r seems so to us, w ho know the

distance covered with hundreds o f buildings and a

network of streets .There w as little time no w fo r him to devote to

alchemy by day . His work lay in a m o re practicaldirection

July 17. I willed the Fellows to com to me bynine the next day . July 18 . They cam . It is to benoted of the great pacifications, unexpected o f man ,

which happened this Fr iday ; fo r in the fore-noone(betw ene nine and ten ) when the Fellows weregreatly in doubt of my heavy displeasure, by reaso nof their m anifold m isusing o f them selves against me,

I did with all lenity interteyn them , and shewed themost part of the things that I had brought to pass atLondon fo r the Co lleg good ; and told Mr . Carter


the rector o f Stockport, Richard Gerard. Things

perhaps were set on a little better foundation fo r a

time . Points of dispute were referred to the steward,Humphrey Davenport, Counsayler , o f Grays Inn,

”

and Oliver Carter , the contentious Fellow, diedwithin three o r four years .The last troublous year s in Manchester must bebriefly passed o ver , and indeed the m ater ial fo r themis scanty. D ee had to borrow money o n m ore plate,double gilt potts with cover and handells,

” “bowlesand cupps

‘

with handles,” from Edmund Chetham ,

the high master o f the Gramm ar School and he had

no t been able to redeem them when Chetham’

s

father and executor made his will in March, 1603.

He says in it that D ee delivered to his son sixseverall parcells of Plate to be kept as a payne o r

pledge fo r the same [loan], which by reason of mysaid executo rshippe are no w com e into my possession, and he wills the ten pounds lent upon them tohis other sons Humfrey and R alphe.

1 When,if

ever , the pieces were redeemed, does no t appear .

Another valuable article a silver salt, dubble gilt,with a cover , waying 14 o z . , had to be deposited withAdam Holland in January, 1601 , fo r a loan o f five

pounds fo r o ne year . Dee ’s store of plate, thoughlarge, w as being heavily drained and irrevocablyscattered in this w ay . The o ld m an doubtless sawhis treasures, the gifts o f friends and patrons o f halfa century, disappear with feelings o f deep chagrinand disappointment, m ingled w ith memor ies o f past

1 The standard rate of silver , 43 Eliz.,w as 53. 2d. per o unce, so

he value of the six parcels w as £ 12 88.

COLLEGE AFFAIRS 285

triumphs, and little light upon the future. A piece o fthe plate came to light at the Tudor Exhibition in theNew Gallery in 1890 , when a silver cup, the propertyofMrs . John H o okham Frere (said to be Dee

’s greatgreat-niece), w as exhibited. Writing of this cup toher son Bartle Frere, about the end o f the eighteenthcentury, Mrs. Frere says, My great thrice-greatuncle, John D ee, because he w as a wise man, w as

taken fo r a conjurer . I have his silver cup no w herew ith me, and you may drink o f it, but I know no

story in the family that he ever divined by it. Itserves me here fo r a sugar basan. Evidently Mrs .

Frere took an entirely rational View o f the powersattributed to her famo us ancestor .

1

Perhaps in these sad days he looked back regretfully to the glorious visions and prom ises made himby those angelic visito rs in the years when he and his

skryer lived in the Courts o f kings and emperors, andwere co nsulted and deferred to as seers and wise men .

Even the thoughts o f suspicions harboured of secretand open foes, at hom e and abroad the recollectio nof heart burnings and passio nate scenes with the

incalculable Kelley, must have seemed dazzlinglybrilliant as compared with these grey hopeless years .It is little wonder that he began to seek among hisassistants and friends another skryer , through whomhe might renew some glimmer o f the former days .Mr . Francis Nicholls , w ho had come to Mortlake in1593 to learn astrology, seem s to have been tried.

1 Miss Festing , the autho r of Fr er e an d his Friends saysMrs . Frere’s m o ther w as Mary Dee , a great-niece o f our John , but

no bro ther o f Dec has hitherto been disco vered (see Appendix L) .


H e w as frequently with theWarden, and his daughter

Mary stayed fo r tw o o r three months with the

Dees in Manchester o n their return from London .

She would be a companion in age fo r Kather ine, andthe Warden tells how the tw o girls, his Wife and

him self, partook of the sacrament together on

August 10 , 1600 . Bartholomew Hickman w as moresuccessful as a m edium than Mr . Nicholls, and yet atfirst no t always to be trusted . D ee had learned byno w to be very discrim inating, and he fo und many ofthe reports o f sight and hering spirituall,

” obtainedthrough this skryer , so untrue that he made a bonfireof allthe wr itings o nMichaelmas D ay , before his wife ;Mr . Nicholls ; his brother , William Nicholls, and a

Mr . Wortley. A copy o f the first part, which w as

afterward fownd, w as burnt before me and my

wife.

”

The revelations afterwards transm itted throughBartholomew were no t so treated , and were evidentlyconsidered by D ee to be genuine m essages from the

unseen . His visitors left the next day after the

Michaelmas bonfire, the Warden accompanyingthem on foot as far as D eansgate, where they parted.

O n his return home a surprise awaited the old m an .

Dee’ s servants, many o f them , attached them selvesto him fo r life, as w e have seen . They, at least,regarded him without suspicion. He w as no invokero f devils o r conjurer of evil spir its to them . Nomaster could be kinder , more gentle, considerate o r

m ore strictly honourable. In whatever straits he foundhim self, he always contr ived to pay , and faithfullyrecord in his diary the payment of, their wages . W e

have seen how he wr ites to Sir Edward Dyer o f their


Cheshire, came to Manchester to see the steward o fthe college, Humphrey Davenport, of Gray

’s Inn,

about some o f the college property in Cheshire,which he held. Booth had been kn ighted since hislast visit. After all parties had been interviewed, theycame to a mutual agreement that the Warden and

Fellows would accept the arbitrament o f the stewardon the point in question , his decision to be deliveredafter the lawyer had paid his next visit to London.

Davenport’s clerk, John R adclyffe, and Mr . Dumbellwere at the college at the tim e, but D ee saysthey hard no t o ur agreement, w e were in my dining

room.

”

H e received a kind letter from the Bishop ofChester (Richard Vaughan ), recommending Mr .

Thomas Billings to him fo r a curacy. He does notsay if the spiritual ministrations o f Mr . Billings wereaccepted. The commissioner s were still sitting, andin November they made an award against Mr . JamesAshton, of Chadderton , fo r holding the manor o r

property o f Nuthurst while its title belonged to thecollege. There w as a final scene with Oliver Carterin the college, before Mr . Birch, Robert and CharlesLeigh. At the college audit o n December 2 , D ee

w as allowed his portion o f £7 year ly fo r house rentup to the Michaelm as before. A grant w as now

made to Arthur o f the chapter clerkship, but theholder, Owen Hodges, w as only going to relinquish iton condition o f £6 being paid fo r his patent. Somore silver had to be pledged to meet a loan .

The last entry made by D ee in his diary is on

April 6 , 1601 , when he made Mr . Holcroft, of

COLLEGE AFFAIRS 289

Vale Royall,1 his first acquaintance, at Manchester , by

reason o f Mr . William Herbert, his servant. He

used me and reported o f me very freely and w o r

shiply.

Fo r the concluding seven years o f the old man’s

life there are only a few scanty outside records o nwhich to rely, beside two o r three fragmentaryentries printed in the end of the B o ok ofMyster ies.

In such a practised and ready wr iter as our agedmathematician and astrologer , the failure to set downrecords seem s to betoken failing strength o f bothintellect and body.

1 Sir Thomas Ho lcroft, knighted 1603, a gentlem an of the PrivyChamber and High Sheriff of Cheshire.

CHAPTER XXIII

LAST DAYS

If I read aught in Heaven ,

O r Heaven write aught o f fate , by what the stars ,

Vo luminous o r single charactersIn their co njunction m et, give me to spell ,So r rows and labours, oppo sition , hateAttends thee ; sco rns , reproaches , injuries .

—MILTON,Paradise Regained.

A FEW days after the diary closes, Dee’ s fourth

son , Theodore, died. The boy w as just over thirteen,perhaps at the Gramm ar School . Michael, w e

remember , had died at Mortlake seven years before,so the only sons left were Arthur and Rowland, bothno w grown almost to m an

’s estate. Within about ayear , Arthur married, and soon embarked o n hissuccessful career as a physician in London ,Manchester ,Moscow and Norwich, to which w e can return later .

Arthur ’s wife w as Isabella , daughter of EdmundPrestwich, Justice of the Peace, of Manchester , a

member o f a fam ily whose name is perpetuated by alarge distr ict o f the town . The m arriage took placein 16 02 , when Arthur w as twenty-four , his br ide justunder twenty. The young couple settled w ith o r

near his parents at first, and D ee had the joy ofseeing grandchildren grow up around him . Four o fArthur ’s twelve children were bo rn dur ing the oldm an

’s life, and he pleased him self by drawing a

horoscope fo r two o f these, Margar ita 1603, and Jane


maintained her faith in him to the last. Burleigh’

s

death in 1598 , and now the Queen ’s, left him withoutpatron and protector . Elizabeth died at Richmondo n March 23, 1603, but D ee, presumably, w as far awayin Manchester , and no t near at hand at Mortlake,even had he been required. The course o f the

magnificent life w as run , and no prognostications o fher astrologer could put hope into the physicians andcourtier s watching around that royal deathbed. The

Queen w as seventy, and had reigned fo r fifty-threeyear s .From King James there w as nothing to be hoped

fo r D ee, the m an fam iliar with occult sciences . The

Scotsman felt him self a special expert o n the subjecto f witches, demons and m agic. H ad he no t attendedthe infamous tr ials o f 1590 and 1591 And w as he no t

the author o f a book intended to shatter the doubtsof those who were still unconvinced o f the infamy ?

H e w as aghast at the new and unorthodox views ofapologists like W ier and Reginald Scot, and uponhis accession promptly ordered The D iscover ie ofWitchcr aft by the last-named, to be publiclyburned. James ’s D emonologie is a strange piece o f

reasoning, a plea, in fact, fo r the devil, with whomhe seem s to be on peculiarly intimate terms . God’shangman —that is the title awarded him— is

, according to King James, able to return and reanim ate anydead body. H e announces his faith in the power ofconjurer s to invoke the devil when they choose, andto invest others with his spir it. H e adjures all pious

people to unite in exterminating and utterly destroying all persons so possessed : a somewhat unkind

LAST DAYS 293

request, since he has previously allowed that suchobjects o f reprobation are perm itted to exist in orderthat the godly m ay be warned lThe first Par liament of James met on March 19 ,

1604. O n the 27th a new and more str ingent Actagainst Witchcraft w as brought into the House o f

Lords . It w as referred to the bishops, who discovered it w as imperfect, and had a fresh one

drawn . On June 9 the execrable Act that disfiguredour statute book fo r 1 50 year s becam e law . Thishaste, it w as supposed, w as used to meet offencesexposed by the Scottish trials, no w again evidentlyrevived and much talked o f in England. It issignificant to remember that Shakespeare finishedwriting M acbeth in 16 06 . In what w ay D ee felthimself specially involved, unless by the publication ,

in 1603, of H arsnet’

s tirade against impostures andexorcists, 1 it is hard to co njecture, but the times wereripe fo r him to make, at this identical mom ent, a

passionate appeal to the King and Parliament. O n

June 5 he presented to James , in the Palace at

Greenw ich, a petition couched in the strongest and

most piteous terms that any m an could devise.

H e urged upon the King

to cause your H ighnesse said servant to be tryed

and cleared of that horr ible and damnable, and to

him m o st gr ievous and damm ageable sclaunder ,generally, and fo r these many yeares last past, in thiskingdom raysed and continued, by report and P1mtagainst him , namely that he IS o r hath bin a conjurero r caller o r invocator of divels.

1 Decla ration of Egr egious Pop ish Imp ostur es.


He went on to relate how he had published manytimes his earnest apologies against the slander [onew e remember in his preface to Billingsley

’s Euclidin 1570 , and another , the letter to the Archbishopin 1595 , he had republished in 1599 and and

yet this ungodly and false report, so boldly, constantlyand impudently avouched,

”

has been uncontrolledand unpunished fo r so many years and, moreover , inspite o f all, some writer , either a malicious fo rraineenemy o r an English trayto r to the flour ishing Stateand Honor of the Kingdom , on January 7, 1592 ,had called him , John D ee, in print, the conjuror ofthe Queen ’s Privy Council.” It seems, therefore,very needful that the suppliant shall be brought totr ial, fo r the credit of the Lords o f the Privy Councilas well as fo r his o w n . Therefore he offereth him selfwillingly to the punishment o f Death, yea eyther tobe Stoned to death, o r to be buried quieke, o r to beburned unmercifully, if by any due, true, and justmeanes, the name of conjurer , o r caller , o r invocatoro f D ivels o r damned Spirites, can be proved to havebeene o r to be duely o r justly reported of him,

”o r

“ if any o ne of all the great number o f the very strangeand frivolous fables o r histories reported and told ofhim (as to have been o f his doing) were true, as theyhave been told o r reasonably caused any wonder ingam ong o r to the many-headed . multitude, o r to anyother whosoever else.

”

Dee’ s sympathies were so strongly with the unfo rtunate, persecuted, so -called witches, that he w as

willing to throw in his lot with them and share thesame fate. He ends this extraordinary petition with


verses to induce Parliament to pay any heed to a

tiresome o ld petitioner , a survival from the lastcentury and the last reign, who had outlived everycontemporary inclined to believe in him , and whoseco urse w as now nearly run .

N o r did James respond in any w ay to his heartbroken petition . Ro bert Cecil, and all w ho wishedto stand well w ith him , took their cue from the King

,

and D ee in his o ld age w as left forsaken and alone.

The fo llow ing is the address to Parliament“ TO THE HONO RABLE ASSEMBLIE

OF THE COMMONS IN THE PRESENT PARLIAMENT.

Th e Hono r due unto you all,

And reverence to you each one,

I do first yeeld mo st speciall

Grant m e this time to heare my m one .

N ow (if you write) full well you may,

Fowle sclandrous tongues and divelish hate,And help the truth to beare som e swayIn just defence o f a go o d Name .

“ In sundry so rts , this sclander great(Of conjur er ) I have so re blamde

But w ilfull, rash, and spiteful heat,Do th no thing cease to b e enflamde .

Your helpe, therefo re, by Wisdom’

s lo re ,And by your Powre, so gr eat and sure,

I humbly crave , that never m o re

This hellish wound I shall endure.

And so your Act,1 with Honour great

All Ages will hereafter prayse ;And Truth, that sitts in Heavenly seat,

Will in like case your com fo rts rayse .

Mo st dutifully in all hum ilitie at your commandment, Jo hn Dee ,

servant and Mathematician to his m o st royall Majestic .

An . 1604 . J umj 8 .

1 The Act fo r Suppressing Slander .

LAST DAYS 297

Dee’s good name w as one o f his dearest possessions,but he had long seen it shadowed and dimmed .

Another treasure— his painful” Jane— the wife whohad loyally cleaved to him through good and illreport, w as to be the next of which he w as to bebereft. She w as so much his junior that he m ightreasonably have expected her to tend his decliningyears and to survive him . But it w as thoroughly inkeeping with her unselfish character and devoted lifethat her death came as a sacr ifice to duty. In the

spring o f 1605 , a terrible scourge of plague visitedManchester . She nursed her children safely throughthe epidem ic, but fell a victim to it herself. She

died and w as buried o n March 23 in the collegiatechurch of St. Mary. The o ld m an had no heart totake up his pen and record her death . The bare factis all w e know,

from another source and the fate o f

all Jane’s children ,save Arthur , is wrapped in a like

mystery. At her death, Jane w as a month underfifty years o ld ; the twenty-seven years of her m arriedlife had been crowded years, the one thought in themall to watch over and ward her great childlike,learned, marvellous husband and her children . N o w

she passed the task on to her daughter Kate, w ho

faithfully fulfilled it .A few fragments of angelic visio ns , which after

nearly twenty years were once again vouchsafed,are all that remain to tell of the last tw o years of theo ld man

’s life .

Bartholom ew Hickman w as the skryer , and D ee

w as in London, at Mrs . Goodman her house, veryill. On March 20 and 29 , Raphael appeared, to


comfort him as regards his alarm ing symptoms o f

haemorrhage, and bade him use the medical skill thatGod had given him . D ee, in utter dejection , ow nedthat he w as beaten in his great attempt to makethe Council privy o f my beggary, and to offer tothe Ear l o f Salisbury 1 such my duties as I mayperfect to his account. H e w as r ight to hopenothing from the great Burleigh

’

s little-minded son .

Rober t Cecil lacked almost everything that had madeWilliam Cecil great, even a great sovereign to serve.

In July D ee w as again in London, this time stayingin Westm inster , at the Three Kings in KingStreet. Kather ine w as with him , his devoteddaughter , now a woman o f twenty—six , apparentlyunm arried . Tw o companions o r servants, PatrickSaunders and Thomas Turner , were in attendance.

O n the 9th , the angel Raphael came to the sad and

broken old m an o f eighty, holding out prom ises andhopes that seem cruelly delusive. But D ee w as stillwrapped in that inviolable armour o f faith o r credulitythat had already w ithstood so many severe shocks.Whether he no w actually beheld Raphael, whetherhe still with his ears heard the angel’s voice, o r

whether only within his spiritual consciousness hefelt the impulse and the message, is quite immaterial.But it is noticeable that there are now no descr iptionsof Raphael as an apparition. The message is all he

heeds . As he is sinking slowly down into his gravefrom natural decay, there is a double and figurativemeaning to be read into the angel’s words. Raphael

1 Robert Cecil had been created Ear l of Salisbury, 1605 .


The old man penned on a slip o f paper some notesto aid his failing memory when next he should see

his instructor . In tw o days, on July 11 , he w as ableto put the questions .What country shall he go to ?

The answer is, where he will. Thou hast beena great traveller , and it is referred to thy ow n choice,subject to divine approval. D ee suggests Germany,and receives consent .Whom shall he take with him besides John

Po nto ys? What abo ut his daughter Katherine, and

the young m an , Patr ick SaundersThe answer is very emphatic. It show s howdependent the old man had become upon this elderdaughter of his old age. J ohn D ee, thou of thyselfdo st best know that without thy daughter , thou canstno t be without her .

Certainly he could no t part from Katherine, evenwith Ponto ys as his speciall comfort and aid, and

the honest and well-disposed young man, Saunders,w ho had been sent o n purpose to go with him .

What about books and appurtenances ? Is Mr .

Bardo lf to go ? What shall Arthur do in hisintended travel Shall I ever return to England,and shall I keep a title to enjoy my house when Ido return ? Will the King grant a licence, o r willit no t be another disappointment, like so m any thathave gone before ?

It is all a vain and illusory and impossible chimera.

The only journey left fo r the old man to take w as

the o ne to that undiscovered bourne from whenceno traveller returns . Still, the wonderful visions

LAST DAYS 301

perhaps brought him ecstatic hours . His brain w as

yet strong and clear , less worn out than his body,but like all old people, he lived over again and loved todwell upon the past. A few days later he sat talkingafter dinner to Bartholomew o f divers my doingswith Mr . Kelley.

”H e had forgotten little o f these

dazzling experiences, and perhaps to while away thetime he read his precious diaries over and over again.

But of later events his m emory w as failing Iasked Bar tholomew if he had ever seen my jewelthat w as brought since it w as set in gold [this hadbeen done more than twenty years before], and hethought that he had no t seen it.” Surely tactfulpoliteness on Bartholomew’s part. Whereupon Iwent speedily to my chest, unlocked it, and took itout, and undid the case and set the stone in his duemanner .

”

SoonRaphael appeared in the stone, and D ee heardhis voice, promising that the powder Kelley’spowder ) which he w as keeping the which thoudost make accoun t o f as no better but dust — shouldbe turned to its right use.

Is it possible that the old belief in the goldensecret had at last been killed ? The powder w as now

but dust, as the o ld m an would soon become, and as

all his fixed dream s of projection had ever been .

The last entry in the spiritualistic diary w as made onSeptember 7, 1607, but w hether D ee w as at Mortlake

o r in London cannot be said . Ponto ys had arr ived.

He w as anxious to know if he would be thought fitto serve Dee in Bartholomew’s absence. Also he

earnestly desired to know his guardian angel, and


he would fain hear also “ the end o f the Polishtroubles .Captain Langham, it is hoped, is going to lend

£100 if not, Ponto ys will set to work to w in somehelp fo r money by distillations and alchemical conelusions . Poverty is again stretching her gauntfingers over this fond dreamer o f gold. H e had

missed his silver double gilt bell salt and manyother things from his house. H e is bereaved o f hisow n goods.” The truth w as that Arthur had secretlytaken them away to sell o r pawn, in order to providenecessities fo r the family. D ee has been expecting asum of money from the Emperor Rudolph, howmuch he does no t know. But Raphael tells him to“ let it go and speak no further o f, it. The Emperorof all emperors will be thy com fort. Thou hast nomore need of him [Rudolph], only to keep good willand friendship betwixt him and thee.

”

Then Raphael fades into the eternal invisible, andthe last word o f the angelic visions is written.

In the private diary, kept in the almanack fromVenice throughout this last year , there is little besidethe bare stroke marking the m onths off into weeks, asw as Dee’s usual habit. The strokes are continuedbeyond the month o f his death—December, 1608.

The last written entry is o n December 19 , and isalmost illegible. It is in the o ld man’s hand and

appears to read “ tonitrum a Co rrfe.

”

O n which day at the death o f the old year, Dee’s

spirit joined those others that had always beenso near to him, w e do no t know, o r on what precisedate he w as buried in the chancel o f the church


basket by exchange : the butler had done so and had

found his plate ; he had told a woman that she

laboured under the evil tongue of an ill neighbour ;hewould no t recover some lost horses, though he w as

offered several angels . H e used to distil egg-shells,and kept a great many stills going. H e had given

and built the gallery to the church at Mortlake, andGoody Faldo ’s father w as the carpenter that workedo n it. H e w as a great peacemaker , and if any o f

the neighbour s fell out, he would never let themalone till he had m ade them fr iends .” A mightygood m an he w as.

”

The o ld woman remembered that he entertained thePolish ambassador no t long before he died, and

showed to him the eclipse of the sun , in a dark room.

She could call to mind the stone upon his grave : itw as between the tombstones o f two other servants ofQueen Elizabeth, Mr . Holt and Mr . Miles, upon botho f which were brasses . The children , she said,dreaded him because he w as accounted a conjurer ,and yet whenever they strayed into the church, theywould run straight to play upon his gravestone.

There were steps at the upper end o f the chancelwhen he w as bur ied, but the m inister laid them plainin Oliver ’s days, and then the stone that coveredD r . D ee w as removed. She could recall his appearance : a man tall and slender , clad in a gown like an

artist’s gown , with hanging sleeves and a slit.These garrulous reminiscences give us a picture of

the old philosopher’ s end more valuable than any

mere formal entry of the date . Some day , however ,it may be possible to recover that.

LAST DAYS 305

Meanwhile, Dee’s memory may be entrusted to the

kinder judges o f to-day, who w ill be more charitablebecause more enlightened and less impregnated withsuperstition . They may see in him a vain , presump

tuous and much deluded person, but at any rate theymust acknowledge his sincere and good intentions his

personal piety ; his uncommon purity of thought andm ind. If, in his thirst fo r knowledge o f the infiniteunknowable, he pushed back the curtain farther thanw as wise o r justifiable, did he harm any one

’s reputation beside his ow n ? Did he no t suffer all the

penalty in his ow n m iserable failure, so far as com fortand prosper ity in m ater ial things were concerned ?

In all the vague hopes held out by him to Queen ,

Princes and Emperors, of enr iching them through hisalchem ical skill, he w as no conscious charlatan , playing a part to lure them o n, but a devout believer inman

’s power and purpose to w r est scientific secretsfrom the womb o f the future. Can w e look backupon the discoveries o f three hundred year s and feelhis certainty w as vain ? The powers o f electr icity,the training to o ur uses that marvellous and longconcealed agency and light ; the healing virtues ofradium , should be worth more .to us than muchmanufactured gold.

308 APPENDIX I

H e m arried in 1602 , lived fo r a while in Man

chester , and began practising medicine. Wood sayshe spent some time at Oxford, but his name has sofar no t been found in any college adm issions . In hisw ill he is descr ibed as Doctor of P-hysic.

” Probablyhe took a degree abroad . H is marr iage to IsabellaPrestwich, daughter of a well-known Manchesterjustice of the peace, took place when he w as twentytwo

, and it is to be presum ed that he continuedliving on in Manchester until his father left that citysome tim e in 1605 o r 1606 , after the sad death ofhis wife. Arthur set up a practice in London some

tim e about that year , although precise dates are not

obtainable. H e seem s to have followed the commonusage o f hanging outside his door a list o r table ofm edicines , and their excellent therapeutic properties,which were said to effect certain cures of severaldiseases . This attracted the attention of the censorsappointed by the R oyal College of Physicians, whoproceeded against him forthwith, under the powersgranted them against empiricks, which they hadexercised since the foundation College in the earlyyears o f Henry VIII . The learned members of thecollege esteem ed this cr ime such an intolerablecheat and imposture, that they summoned ArthurD ee to appear before them with his remedies thatthey m ight impose a due penalty upon his presumption . The rest o f the story is unrelated, and w e

cannot say what fine o r o rder w as his reward.

H e seem s , either through influence o r talent, tohave m ade his m ark as a doctor . In July, 16 14, hew as recommended by the Archbishop o f Canterburyand the Lord Chancellor to be elected physician ofThomas Sutton ’s newly founded hospital, the Charterhouse,

1and w e may presume the appointment w as

1 Ca l. State Pap . Dom .,161 1—18, p. 246 .

APPENDIX I 309

made. In May, 16 27, Charles I . recommended himas physician to the Empero r o f Russia, and in Juneit w as agreed to send letter s o ut by him o r his agent,the stipulation being made that he must sail at once,o r no t have passage this year .

He took up his abode at Moscow, if no t in the

splendour and riches offered to his father , at leastsufficiently provided fo r to m aintain his huge fam ilyin comfort. Four o r five of his twelve children diedin infancy ; the complete list o f them , as given in hisfather ’s book of horoscopes in the Br itish Museum

2

is as underMargaret Apr il 4, 1603.

Jane March 31 , 1605 .

John July 24, 1606 (died) .Arthur March 16 , 16 08 .

Mar ia February 24, 16 12.

Rowland September 8 , 16 13 .

Isabel September 5 , 16 14.

Frances October 25 , 16 15 .

William August 27 16 17 .

John March 30 , 16 19 .

Edmund bap tised August 27 , 1620 .

bur ied September 23, 1621 .

Anna born January 15 , 1 622 .

Arthur ’s wife, Isabella D ee , died July 24, 1634.

About this time he returned to England and settledin Norwich, near his friend, Sir Thom as Browne, w how as then busily engaged in wr iting down the ethicaland theological conclusions which he called the

R eligi o M edici. Browne w as, of cour se, the yo ungerman . Writing in 16 58 , a few years after Arthur

’

s

death, to Elias Ashm o le, Sir Thomas tells of themany talks about the doings of D ee and Kelley thathe had with “ my familiar friend, so nne unto o ld

1 Cal. Sta te Pap . Dorm,1627, pp. 197, 2 1 1 .

2 SloaneMSS .,1902 .

310 APPENDIX I

Doctor D ee, the mathem atician,who had lived

m any year s and died in Norwich.

” Browne sent toAshmole “

the scheme o f Arthur ’s nativity, erectedby his father , D r . John D ee,

”a copy from the

or iginal, made by Arthur him self, with commentsadded by a Mo scow astro loger , Franciscus Murrerus.

D r . Arthur , in spite, o r perhaps because, o f hisearly environment, retained until his dying day a

devout belief in the possibilities o f alchemy to makeprojection o r transm utation . H e had grown up inthe fixed idea that the ever -elusive secret would soonbe found o ut. In fact, he w as per suaded that diversworkers had indeed discovered the art. The childof seven o r eight, w ho had played with quoits o r

playthings , which he under stood had been turned intogold upon the prem ises, w as likely to retain thisconviction . To doubt it would be to cast a slur uponhis father ’s m emory. Of Kelley his recollectionsthe reco llections of a boy under nine—could be butdim and hazy, untouched with any possible scepticismo r cr itical judgment. After the February daywhen Kelley rode o ff to Prague in 15 88 , neitherArthur o r his father had ever set eyes on thisadventurer again .

H e had succeeded in convincing his o ld fr iend ofthe truth of these recollections, fo r Browne wr ites ofhim as a persever ing student in hermeticall philosophy, who had no small encouragem ent, having seenprojection made, and with the highest asseverationshe confirm ed unto his death that he had ocularly,undeceivably and frequently beheld it in Bohem ia .

And to my knowledge, had no t an accident prevented, he had, no t m any years before his death,retired beyond sea and fallen upon the solemn processof the great work.

Continuing the correspondence six months later ,when additional matter r ises to his m ind, Sir Thom as

312 APPENDIX I

all his life but books o f that subject ; and tw o yearsbefore his death, contracted w ith o ne Hunniades, o r

Hans H anyar , in London , to be his Operator . ThisHans H anyar having lived long in London and

growing in year s, resolved to return into Hungary.

H e went fir st to Am sterdam , where he w as to rem ainten weeks , till D r . Arthur came to him . The

D r . to my knowledge w as ser ious in this businesseand had provided all in readiness to go , but suddenlyhe heard that Hans H anyar w as dead .

”

During his residence in Moscow, Arthur compileda bo ok o f alchem ical notes and extracts , which w as

published at Paris in 1631 under the title of Fasci

culas Chemicus, etc. Ashm o le, am ong his earlyenthusiastic labour s upon alchem ical author s prosecuted under the name o f James H aso lle,

” translatedthis into English in 1650 . While the book w as at

press in the beginning o f the year , he wrote toArthur , apparently as a stranger , inform ing him ofhis occupation, and putting at the same time a

question o r two upon his father’s books .

Arthur ’s reply, dated Norwich, January 31 , 1649no w in the Bodleian Library, begins by express

ing regret that you o r any man should take painsto translate any book o f that nature into English, fo rthe art is vilified so much already by scholars thatdaily do der ide it, in regard they are ignorant of theprinciples . H ow then can it any w ay be advancedby the vulgar ? But to satisfie your question ,

youm ay be resolved that he who wrote Euclid ’s Prefacew as my father . The Fasciculus, I must confess , w as

my labour and work. H e ends by saying that hewill be in London that day week, and if Ashm olewants to see him, he m ay hear o f him in Butler ’sCourt at the end of Lombard Street, at his so n

Rowland Dee’s warehouse. The writing, and

especially the signature of this letter , are good

APPENDIX I 313

testimonies to the care bestowed by William CamdenofWestm inster School o n the bo y’s handwriting . Hisfather , as w e remem ber , had asked fo r special supervision o f the rom an hand, since matter , po o r in itself,but set down in a good style, did, in his opinion ,

often receive m ore attention than good materialbadly wr itten and expressed.

Browne had received from Arthur a completecatalogue o f all his father ’s w r itings , both finishedand intended. But there w as o ne no t included, viz . ,

the B o ok of Myster ies. Sir Thomas, writing in 1675 ,says he never heard him say o ne word o f the Bookof Spiritts sett o ut by D r . Casaubone, which if heehad kno w ne I make no doubt butt hee would havespo ake o f it unto mee, fo r he w as very inquisitiveafter any manuscripts of his father ’s, and desirous toprint as m any as he could possibly obtain . H e goeson to say that Arthur understo od that Sir WilliamBoswell, the English Resident in Holland, owned a

number of Dee ’s MSS . , which he had collected and

kept in a trunk in his Dutch hom e. Boswell refusedmany applications from Arthur fo r leave to print som e

o f these, which the famous mathem atician ’s son co n

sidered should no t be locked up from the wor ld.

Bo swell ann ounced his intention o f printing themhim self, which o f cour se he never did.

N o r did the Book o f Spir its see the light of dayduring Arthur

’s lifetime. Perhaps !had Casaubonappealed to him as Ashmole had done, it wouldnever have been issued at all. A so n would certainlyhave remonstrated against this revelation , this tearing down the veil from the inner tabernacle o f his

father ’s soul .Arthur died in the autumn of 16 51 , eight year sbefore Casaubon published his book. H e m ade hiswill o n September 17, describing him self as Doctoro f Physick, o f the city o f Norwich, and leaving a

314 APPENDIX I

sm all legacy of twenty shillings to the poor o f the

par ish o f St. George Tombland, in which he hadlived.

Only three sons o ut of his seven, and threedaughters of the six are named in the w ill, all theothers being dead, unless it w as Arthur , the eldest,who had been a m erchant in Am sterdam . There isa legacy of twenty pounds to his wife .

The second son ,Rowland, w as established, as w e

have seen , in Lombard Street as a m erchant. To himArthur had already given his father

’s portrait, nowin the Ashm olean Museum and reproduced as the

Frontispiece to this book ; and a painted coat of arms.

Sir Thom as Browne, who had often seen it, speakso f an addition m ade to the coat by grant of theEmperor Rudolph in the shape of a m athematicalfigure ; probably the delta which D ee always used fo rhis name in the spiritual diary. To Rowland’s w ifethere is a legacy o f twenty pounds .To John D ee, my youngest son , Arthur left one

hundred pounds and his gold seal r ing with the coato f arm s cut in a sapphire. John w as a Russiamerchant.There is no mention o f his eldest child and

daughter , Margaret, w ho is said to have m arr iedanother Russia m erchant named Abraham Ashe.

To three sons-in-law , my son Grym es my son

Anguish (this w as the husband of his youngestchild, Anne) ; and “ my son Fow ell,

”he leaves

respectively a plush coat ; a saddle and pistol ; anda black gown and plush suit.To each of his three daughters, their wives (none ofthem m entioned by name), he gives £20 and to thetwo elder , his two iron-barred sealskin trunks withlong cushions and foot carpets, feather bed, blankets,bolsters and coverlets . H e appoints his friend JohnToley, of Norwich, his executor , and gives him his

316 APPENDIX I

at Mortlake in 1608 , aged eighty and a half, David,w ho survived him twelve years, must have been hisjunior . David D ee w as depr ived of St. Bartholomew , fo r what,

” says N ew court, I know no t buthe w as brought back there to be bur ied o n February 3,1620 . By his wife Martia , daughter o f John Rogers,David D ee had three sons, o f whom Francis, theeldest, w as educated at Merchant Taylor s

’ School andSt. Jo hn ’s College, Cambridge . H e entered the

Church, held var ious livings in London and elsewhere, and four years before his death w as consecratedBishop o f Peterborough. By his will (datedMay 28,

he gave his recto ry of Pagham , Sussex, tofound tw o fellowships and tw o scholar ships in St.John ’s College, one of which w as to be held fo r everby “

o ne of my kindred o r of my name, from eitherMerchant Taylor s ’ School, London , o r from Peterborough School.

” We have seen that two of JohnDee ’s great grandchildren were sent to MerchantTaylors ’ , and one, Duncan , proceeded to St. John

’

s,

pro bably o n this fo undation . The Bishop’s eldest son ,

Adrian D ee, Canon o f Chichester , died unmarr ied,but his younger sons, John and Daniel, leftdescendants .

APPENDIX II

BIBL IOGRAPHY

THE principal author ities fo r Dee’s Life are his

own Diar ies, already frequently cited in the foregoingpages, Viz(1 ) The P r ivate D iary . The or iginal notes com

prising this are in tw o 4to alm anacks in the BodleianLibrary, Oxford, numbered Ashmolean MSS . 487 ,488 . They were transcribed and pr inted fo r the

Camden Society with num erous om issions , byMr . J. O . Halliwell -Phil]ipps] The Manchesterportion of this Diary, covering the years 1595— 1601 ,

w as edited with much local knowledge and care byMr . J. Eglington Bailey, and privately pr inted ; onlytwenty copies Mr . Bailey also reprinted fromN otes and Quer ies (May , 1879 ) his paper on D ee and

the Steganog raphia of Trithemius.

(2 ) The Sp ir itual Diary , o r L iber Myster iorum,

divided by D ee into separate books, each dealing witha special epoch. The first five books, with an appen

dix to the fifth— dating in all from December 22 ,

1581 , to May 23, 1583— are comprised in Sloane

MSS . 3188 , at the British Museum . The rem aining books, actually twelve but no t consecutivelynumbered, were printed by D r . Meric Casaubon in

The True and Faithful R elation , etc. , 16 59 , fol.Three of these are entitled Libri MysticiAperto riiCraco viensis Sabbatici three Mysterio rum Pra

gensium Confi rmatio and the two last LiberR esurectionis and Mysterio rum divino rum memorabilia . This ends on May 23, 1587 About a

318 APPENDIX II

dozen pages o f occurrences taking place in 1607 are

printed by Casaubon at the end o f his book, fromstray papers .Dee ’s autobiogr aphical Comp endious Rehearsall

rank s next ’in im portance. The original MS . w as

partly burned in the fire in the Cottonian Library,but a transcr ipt m ade by D r . Thomas Sm ith (authoro f a life o f D ee, see below ) w as printed by Hearnein the Appendix to J ohannis Glastoniensis Chr onicon(Oxford, This printed version w as collatedwith Ashmole ’s transcr ipt of the or iginal (AshmoleanMS . and edited by James Crossley fo r the

Chetham Society, in Autobiogr aphical Tr acts 0 D r .

J ohn D ee, Warden of the College if M anc ester ,

185 1 . In his preface, the editor prom ises anothervolume o f correspondence and selections o f D ee,

which never appeared.

The Latin life of D ee, Vitae E ruditissimorum”

ct

Illustr ium Vir orum, by D r . Thomas Sm iththe article in the B iogr aphia B r itannica , edited byKippis (1778 , largely based upon the foregoing,and upon Strype

’

s Annals (1725 , etc. ) some accountin Wood ’s A thenee Oa'

oniensis (Bliss), i. 639 , 640, andFasti, i. 143 ; in Foxe

’s Acts and M onuments, ed.

Townsend, v11. , 77 , 85 , 349 n . , 638 , 641 , 642 , 681 , 734,756 , 783, 784 and in Ashmole ’ s Theatrum ChemicumB r itannicum pp. 478— 483 ; with Aubrey

’sL ives, ed . by D r . A . Clark (1898 ) and A Tr eatise ofR eligious andL ear ned M en by Edward Leigh,are further sources . Fo r the Manchester yearsHibbert and Ware

’s Foundations of M anchester

(1833) is useful ; and fo r Dee ’s descendants, see a

Gener alAccount of Families der ivedfr om B edo D ee,

by H . B . Wilson and hisH istory ofM er chant

Taylor s!

School (1812 Later wr iters w ho havedescanted more o r less at large upon the romanticepisode o f Dee’s partnership with Kelley, as apart

320 APPENDIX II

Crystal Gazing (1905 ) Mrs . de Morgan , Fr om

M atter to Sp ir it Sir William Crookes,Psychic Fo r ce and M odern Sp ir itualism and

his R esear ches in the Phenomena of Sp ir itualism

Miss Goodrich Freer ’s E ssays in P sychical

R esear ch where she compares the revelationso f the spirits to D ee with the work of a ladynovelist of the eighties l M . Cam ille Flammarion ’spopular and numerous works F . W . Myer s ’ Phantasms of the L iving (1886 ) and his H uman P er sonality(1903) with the P r oceeding s o fthe Psychical ResearchSo ciety, will all affo rd information upon psychical andspiritualistic progress. The consummate descriptionof John Inglesant

’

s tragic and pregnant vision o f hisbrother ’ s murder , seen beforehand in the crystal, as

related by J . H . Sho rthouse, will occur to everyone.

Dee ’s ow n writings were extraordinarily num erous.In his R ehear sall he enumerated forty-nin e. Thereis a list of seventy-nine in Cooper ’s A thenoe Cantabr igensis, vo l. ii. , pp. 505 — 509 ; but some of theseare doubtful : e.g . , No. 66 , Tr eatise of the R osie

Crucian Secr ets, etc fo r the Rosicrucians onlycame into existence about the time of Dee’s death.

Others are but notes from among Ashmole’s manuscripts . O ne (N o. 75 ) is the horoscope o r nativity ofKelley, drawn o r erected by D ee, which Ashmolehas printed in his Theatrum (p. To add toMr . Cooper

’s list there are some Latin verses inHenry Perry’s Eg luryn Phr aethineb

All the pr inted books by D ee are extremely rare.

There is much information about them in Ames,Typ ogr aphical Antiquities (ed. Herbert) . Copies ofthirteen are in the British Museum Library, including those o f other wr iters to which he contributedprefaces, additions and notes , as Recorde

’s Gr ounde

ofA r ts (many editions) Billingsley’s E uclid ; Roger

Bacon ’s de Secr etis op er ibus ar tis et natur ae, etc.

mammwmmnmmfi mwmw w nfif l tl’ sAL. r l 3.

N o nmo riarfi dv1uim ,& uarrabo o peraDomini

ANNG) MVND I N O VO IN CHO AN TE

VERITAS P—R lEVALEBI’IL

ARMS OF DEE AS SHOWN m A CUT AT THE EN D OF H ISLE ’

ITER APOLOGETICALL

322 APPENDIX II

portrait, in a furred gown and peaked cap ; the globeand compasses are in his right hand.

A number of stones and crystals, purportingto be D r . Dee’ s, have from tim e to time beenexhibited . Tw o were at the Tudor Exhibition ;another w as sold at Sotheby’s in 1906 , and is now inDresden . That formerly in the possession o f LordLondesborough (once Horace Walpole ’s) appears tohave been actually the Doctor ’s ; also the globe ofsmoky quartz now in the British Museum .

The Pedigree which D ee made, tracing his descentfrom the mythical times Of King Arthur , and showing Queen Elizabeth, through her Welsh ancestry, asrelated to the sam e source, is illum inated with coatsOf arm s and a small coloured profile portrait Of“ John D ee, philo sophus,

”in a cap and furred gown.

H e here (Co tton Char ter , xiv. 1 ) descr ibes his grandfather , Bedo D ee, as a soldier fighting under the

Emperor Maxim ilian I. , in 15 12 ; his father , Rowland D ee, arm iger , as gentleman sewer to KingHenry VIII . and himself as a philosopher .

IN D E X

ABBOTT, Mr . ,261

Act of Parliament against so r

cery, 61 ; Act against witchcraft, 293 propo sed Act

against slander , 295Agrippa , Henricus Co rnelius, atLouvain , 137, 219, 245

Albertus Magnus , 26, 62, 244

Alfred, King, 244Alhazen , Persian astronomer ,

244

Alkind, Jacob , 244Alport Park, Manchester , 274Alstade, Philip, 244America (Atlantis) , 66, 89, 156 ;Dee

’

s map of, 54

Amsterdam , 118, 119, 312, 314

Anguish , Anne, 314Mr 314

Anjou, Duke of. Seed’

Alencon.

Anthony, Mr . , 287

Antwerp, 21, 22, 23, 24, 65, 167,215

Apuleius, 28

Aquinas , Thomas , 245Archimedes , 26 BLBEU, M. , o f Paris, 12Archytas , 26 Bacon , Francis , Lord, 2, 37Ardwick Green , Cheshire, 267 Roger , 28, 62, 86, 243,

Aristophanes , The E irene, or 244

Peace o f, 7 Bailey , J . Eglington, 222, 278,

Aristo tle, 26 , 243 317

Armada , the, 44, 46, 57, 96 ; Balthorp, Dr ., 31

Dee’s letter upon , 198 Banister , Mistress, 249

Y 2

Arno ld, Edward, 277, 307Mr . , 259

Arthur , King, 52Ashe, Abraham , 314

Ashley, Antony, Clerk of the

Council, 249Ashmo le, E lias, 37, 81 , 203,

236, 309, 310, 311 synonymo f James Hasolle, 312 letterfrom, 312

Ashton, James , of Chadderton ,

272, 288

Aske, John, 251Asser

’

s Saxon Chronicle, 36

Atslow e, Dr . Edward, 31Aubrey, John , 195 , 260, 303

Dr . William , Master

o f Requests, D e e’s

cousin , 44, 229, 253,

303, 315

Mrs . , 49

Ave, 142, 143

Azores, the, 53

324 INDEX

Barber , Robert, curate, 272Bardolf, Mr ., 300

Barlow, Mr . , 270

Barn E lms, Surrey, 67, 201Barnes , 57, 229

Alderman , 68

Basle, Basel, 167Bassett, John, 190, 191

Bayly, Dr ., the Queen’s physi

cian, 47

Beale, Mr 67, 249

Beddar. Dean of Worcester ,

78

Bennett, Dr . Robert. SeeHereford, Bishop o f.

Goodwife, 57Berlin , 48Biberstein , Lord, 191Billings, Thomas , 288Billingsley, Sir Henry, translation of Euclid, 24, 294Lord Mayor of London,

24

Birch, George, 278, 288Robert, 283

Bisham , Oxon , 99

Blockley, Worcestershire, 106Blount, Sir Char les

,Baron

Mountjoy, 249Francis , 249

Bodin, Jean, the French publiciet, 65Bodleian Library, 17, 37, 312Bodley, Thomas, 17Bo ethius, Anicius, his Consolatione, 216 , 244

Bohemia, 234, 250, 311Bo logna,University, 12 library,16

Bonatus, Guiod, 244

Bonner , Edmund. SeeLondon,Bishop o f.

Boot, Anselmus de, 244Bo o th , Sir Geo rge, High Sheriffo f Cheshire, 287Bo ris , Prince o f Russia, 177Bo swell, Sir William, 313

Boulogne (Bulleyn) , 42Bourne, Kent, 271

William , 283

Boyle, Robert, 62Bradley, Captain, 273Brandenburg, Duke of, 182,251

Brayes , Mistress, 221Bremen , 120, 123, 200, 201, 202,214, 216, 217, 218, 221, 222,258, 270

Brentfo rd, Middlesex, 109, 111,221

Brill, po rt of, Holland, 118Bristo l, 241Bromfi eld, Mr ., 237Bro oke, William , Lord Cobham,

36, 226, 255Lady, 220

Browne, John, 64Sir Thomas, 203

letter s to Ashmole, 309, 310,311, 314

Bruno , Gio rdano , 83Brunswick, Duchy of, 177Buckhurst, Lord, 258Budweis, Bohemia, 175, 191,199

Bur leigh. SeeCecil, SirWilliam.

Butler , Samuel, Hudibras, 76,213

Byrd, William, 49

Byron , Sir John, 264, 268, 278

326

Chichester , Bishop o f, JohnChristOpher son , 9

China (Cathay) , 57 65, 156ChippingN orton , Oxon , 79, 106

Chiswick, Surrey, 48Cholmeley, John, 270

Christian , Christopher , 156Christopherson , John .

Chichester , Bishop of.

Clayton , near Manchester , 264Clement, Mr . , 66

Clerkson , Mr . , 70, 80

Olayne, Francis , 31, 321Cliffo rd, Margaret (Russell) ,Countess of Cumberland, 142,251

Cobham , Lord. See Brooke.

Co ccius , Timon , 216

Co le, E llen , 58

Co logne University, 12Comets, 45, 57

Compendious Rehearsall, 6 , 10,

Constantinople, 249Co ok, Roger , 60, 63, 286 , 287Cooper , Edm ond, 182, 196

Jo an, o r Johanna, 94 ;marr ies Kelley , 79 ;See Kelley, Joan .

Mrs., 106

Copernicus, 83

Co tton, Sir Thomas , 73, 80

Ro bert B. ,265

Co ventry,Warwickshire, 261Cowley, Antony, 265Cracow,

121, 130, 132, 144, 153,

154, 155 , 156,165 ; St.

Stephan’

s Church , 166, 245,

Crane, Sir Francis, 31

See

INDEX

Critzin , Captain, 192, 196

Cro cker , Croker , John, 135, 156 ,220, 267, 270, 273

Crofts , Sir James , 57Katherine, Lady, 57

Croydon, Archbishop’

s house at,256

Crystals, 63, 73, 74, 86Cumber land, Countess o f.

Clifford.

Curtius , Dr ., 151, 154, 155 , 156,172, 202

See

B’

ALENQON , Duc,“Monsieur ,

E lizabeth ’ s suito r , 49, 66, 98

Daniel, Samuel, sonnet by, 19Dante, 62

Dantzic, 119 , 275, 278 , 299

Darcy, Lord, 99Darrell, John , 269

Dartm outh , Devon , 52

Davenport, Sir Humphrey, ChiefBaron of the Exchequer ,277 ; Steward o f ManchesterCollege, 277, 283, 287, 288

David, Griffith, 268Davis, John , 53, 54, 67, 68

Davy,Sir Humphry, 62

Day, Jo hn , printer , xiv, 38

Dr . William . See Winchester , Bishop of

Dee, Adrian , Canon of Chi

chester , 316Anna, 309

Arthur , birth, 48 , 50, 66 ,118, 135 , 184, 186 , 191,

203, 221 , 224, 226, 247,

256, 267, 287, 280, 297,300, 301 , 303 accidentat fencing, 277, 307 ; at

INDEX

Christ Chur ch , Oxfo rd,277 chapter clerk, 288,307 ; m arriage,his horo scope, 291 ; a

do cto r in London , 308 ;

wo rks by, 312 ; letter toAshmo le, 312 ; death ,313, 315 ; will , 313, 314

Arthur, son o f Arthur ,309

Bedo , grandfather of

John , 5 , 315 , 322

Daniel, 316David, 315 , 316Duncan , 315

Edmund, 309Frances , daughter of JohnDee, 228, 229, 256, 303,

307

Frances, d augh ter o f

Arthur , 309Francis , Bishop o f Peterbo rough , 316 ; his will ,315, 316

Henry , 315Isabella, wife of Arthur ,309

Isabel, daughter ofArthur ,

Jane, Dee ’

s mother , 5 , 30,47 death , 55Jane (Fromond) , her

m arriage to Dee, 46,

47 ; strange dream , 50 ;

annoyed at Kelley ’ scoming, 79, 80, 111 ,

118, 129, 135 ; h e r

troubles, 148 lettersfrom , 149, 180, 181 ;

155 , 156 ; petition of,

327

160 ; left at Prague1 6 6 ; k in dn e s s to

stranger s, 168 ; dislikesPucci, 173, 176 re

ceivas a chain o f go ld,179, 182 ; her distress,187, 188, 189, 196 , 198,

200, 247, 249, 250 ;

present to , 251, 256 ,

276 supplication to the

Queen , 258 ; bir th o f

her youngest child, 260 ;devotion to her children ,

297 death, 297 bur ial,297

Jane, daughter ofArthur ,290, 309

Jane, w ife of Rowland,315

John , birth, 5 ; sent to

Chelmsfo rd Grammar

Schoo l, 6 ; enter s St.

John ’

s College, Cam

bridge, 6 his industry,6 ; graduates B .A. , 7

a Fellow o f Trinity, 7 ;Reader in Greek, 7stage performances , 7 ,

12 Christmas pastime,

7, 8 ; a s t r o n o m i c a lstudies, 8 ; go es to the

Low Countries, 8 ; be

comes M.A. , testi

monial from theUniversity , 9 ; go es to Louvain ,

9 ; to Paris, 11 ; lectur eson Euclid, 11 invited tob e c o m e R e a der in

Mathematics , 12 ; intro

duced to Edward VI . ,

328 INDEX

13 ; bo oks for the King,13 Royal pension , 13 ;

rectory o f Upton , 13 ;Leadenham, 14 ; invitedto Oxfo rd, 14 ; bo oksdedicated to Duchess ofNo rthumberland, 14

at Philpot’

s examina

tion , 15 ; seeks to foundState library, 15 intro

duced to Queen E lizabeth, 19 ; sent fo r to

Hampton Court, 20 ;

letter to Cecil, 21 ; in

the Low Countries, 23

his Monas, 23, 38, 147

preface to Euclid, 24,247, 294, 312 appliesfo r St. Cro ss, 29 settlesatMortlake, 30 '

illness,31 ; the Queen s atten

tions , 31 ; letter to

Bur leigh , 32 ; marriage,

34 ; death of his first

w ife, 35 ; liter a r ylabours, 36, 38 , 51 ;

diary, 36 ; friendshipw ith the navigators, 38 ;at Court, 45 ; secondm arr iage, 46 ; journeyabroad, 47 birth of hiseldest son , 48 ; con

sulted by the Queen ,

49 ; pupils come to him ,

50 ; the Queen'

s visit,50 Her Majestie'

s

Title, 54 ; his mother 'sdeath, 55 ; Royal condo lence, 55 ; bir th o f

Katherine, 57 ; psychic

phenomena, 63, 64 ;

crystal gazing, 63 ;

journeys in England,6 6 ; s e a r ch fo r a

medium , 68 ; Talbotarr ives , 70 ; sight inthe crystal, 69 ; the

table and seals, 73 ; hisprayer fo r know ledge,84, 88 ; desir ed to re

form the Calendar , 90,133 ; dreams, 92, 273,

281 poverty and debt,93, 97 ; Laski’ s visits,99, 100, 102, 104 ; de

partur e from England,117 arrival at Lubeck,123 ; destruction of his

library, 127, 219 ; at

Cracow , 132 goes to

Prague, 145 ; sees the

Empero r Rudo lph , 149 ;passport, 155 ; his affec

tion fo r Kelley , 157 ;poverty, 160 ; v is itsKing Stephan, 165

banished from Prague,168 letter to Walsingham , 169 ; a refuge at

Trebone, 175 invited toRussia, 176 ; Kelley'scommunistic propo sal,185 ; Dee

’

s indignation ,186 ; an extrao rdinaryco venant, 188 ; strainedrelations with Kelley,190, the great

secret, 196 ; his Armadaletter , 198 parts from

Kelley, 199 ; journey to

330

Dec, Rowland, the elder , fathero f John , 5 ; gentleman

server to Henry VI I I . ,5 , 321 , 322

Rowland, son of Dr . JohnDec, 118, 135, 144, 145 ,156, 221, 224, 250, 267 ;at Manchester Grammar Scho o l, 280, 307

Rowland, son o fArthur , amerchant, 309, 312, 314 ;owns his grandfather ’spo rtrait, 314 ; his w ife,

314, 315

Rowland, son ofRow land,315

Theodore, 155 , 196, 218,224, 251 ; death, 290,307

William , 309

de la Warre, Thomas, Baron ,

263

Delmenhorst, 120de Monluc, M. , 12

Denmark, 122, 217Derby, Earl of. See Stanley.

d'

e Rohan,M. , of Paris , 12

Devereux, Frances (Walsingham) , Countess o i Essex, 260

Devonshire, 68, 107, 220Dibbley , a clo ckmaker , 238Diepho lz, Hano ver , 200Dietrichstein, Lady, 159Digby, Sir Everard, 303Digges, Henry, 134

Thomas, 171, 172

Dokkum ,W. Friesland, 119

Drake, Sir Francis , 57, 198Dublin , Trinity College, 244Dubois, Mrs.

,31

INDEX

EAST SHEEN , Surrey, 35, 66,223

Eckfo rd, Sir Jo hn , Lo rd Keeper,249, 250, 251 , 260

Eclipses , 65, 279Edgar , King, 43Edmunds, Mr . , 67

Edward the Confessor , King,245

Edward VI. , King, 13, 35 , 129,263

E lizabeth, Queen , at Wo odstock, 14 co ronation , 18 ;sends for Dee, 19, 20, 30 ;

du Bruarne, Mr . , 14

Dudley, AmbrOse, Ear l ofWar

w ick, 247Anne (Russell) , Countess o f Warwick , 29,225, 229, 247, 248,

253, 260

John , Ear l ofWarw ick ,247

Robert, Ear l of Leicester , 18, 19 , 20, 35 , 37, 48 ;

quarrel with Ear l of Sussex,65 99, 100, 218, 264

Dumbell, Mr . , 288

Dunne, Thom as , of St. John’

s

Co llege, 8Dunninglcy , Yo rks, 266Duns Scotus , 245

Dyer , Sir Edward, 36, 37, 45 ;Arthur ’ s godfather , 49, 68,192, 196, 198, 204, 206, 207,208, 209, 212, 216, 217, 274 ;

Burleigh’

s letters to , 204, 205,251 Dee

’

s letter to , 275, 286

INDEX

her promises, 24, 29 ; his

pupil, 23 ; gives him a pass

po rt, 32 ; permits his mar

riage, 35 visitsMortlake, 35summons him to explain a

comet, 45 illness, 47 ; con

ference with Dee, 47 ; sendshim abroad , 48 ; lady of themano r o f Wimbledon , 48 ;

consults Dee about the Ducd

’

Alencon , 49 ; at Mortlake,50 ; commands Dee to set

out her title to co lonies, 54 ;goes to condo le with him on

his mother ’s death , 55 ; at

Whitehall, 66 calls at Mo rt

lake, 67, 68 ; sends for Dec,91 go es up the river to SionHouse, 100, 115 ; gives Dee40 angells , 100 her favourto Dee, 130 ; desires to re

fo rm the calendar , 134 Dee’

s

letters to her , 161 ; on the

Armada, 198 ; summons Deeand Kelley to England, 201 ;at Theobalds , 205 ; her ministers

’ devotion , 206 ; recallsKelley, 209, 212 ; receivesDee on his return , 219 visits

Mo rtlake, 223 promises

gifts, 224, 225, 229, 247 at

Nonsuch, 226 ; Dee presentshis supplication to , 229 she

sends tw o commissioners ,

231 ; his thanks , 248 sendsfo r him to Greenwich , 252Jane Dee presents her supplication , 258 some o f Kelley’spowder given to , 307 death,292

331

Elmeston, John , 50

Embden , Friesland, 119, 120Emery, William , 54

Ems, river , 119, 120England, called Albion by Dee,38, 240 ; Petty Navy Royal,41

Erfur t, Saxony, 172Ernest, brother o f Empero r

Rudo lph, 152Eseméli, 101

Essex, Countess o f.

Sidney and Devereux.

E stotiland . See Newfoundland .

Ethelred, Abbot o f Rievaulx,245

Eton , Provostship of, 29, 221,

233

Euclid, Dee lectur es on , 11 ;

translated by Billingsley, 24 ;in many languages, 25, 247,294, 312

Ewell, Surrey, 249

FALDO , Go odwife, 303, 304, 307Faust Legend, the, 219Feodo r Ivanow itch , Empero r o f

Russia, 176 , 177, 178

Ferdinand of Austria , 147Fern , Go odman , a potter , 117

Ferrara University, 12Ferrys, Geo rge, 14Finland, 45Fisher , Mr . , 221

Flem ish herring fishery, 42Flo rence ofWo rcester ,Chronicleof, 36

Florence, library, 16, 132Fo skcr , Mr . , 58

332“ INDEX

Fow ell, Mr . , 314

Francke, Christian , 191

Frank, Ann , 223

Frankfort-upon ~0 der , 48

Fr ankfurt-am—Main , 200

Frederick, King of Denmark,123

Freeman, Mrs . , 106

Frere, Bartle, 285Mrs . J . Ho okham , 285

Friseland (Greenland) , 52, 54Frisius,Gemma, the astronomer ,

8

Frizer , Master , 156

Fr obisher , Sir Martin , 38, 54,

57, 198

Fromond, Jane, afterwards Dee,46, 47. See Dee,

Jane.

Mr . ,her father , 46

Nicho las, her bro ther ,117, 126, 147

GABRIEL , 83, 131, 135, 138, 143,

299

Galileo , 83Galvah, o r Finis, 101, 102, 107Gardiner , E lizabeth, 315Garland, Edward, 177, 178

Francis , 177, 178, 187,190, 192, 194, 196, 198, 199,

Garr et, Nur se, 58, 66Geber , the Eastern philo sopher(Jabir) , 244

Geo ffrey o fMonmouth, 52Gerard, John, herbalist, 257

Lord, Master of the

Rolls, 267

Gerard, Lady, 267Richard, 283

Gifi'

ard, Dr . , 252

Gilbert, Adrian , brother of Sir

Humphrey, 53, 67,

68 to assistDee and

Kelley, 89 men

tioned, 38, 94, 107,

147, 220

Sir Humphrey, 66

visits Dee, 51 men

tioned, 38

Sir John , 52

Glastonbury, 77, 91, 106Gloucester , Deanery o f, 24

Robert of, 245Godo lphin , Mr . , 65

Gogava, Antonius , 8Goodier , Mr . , 259

Go odman, Mrs . , 297

Go odw yn , Mary, 267Go rges, Sir Thomas , 231, 247Go tha, tow n o f, 173

Grant, Dr . Edward, Master o f

Westminster Scho o l, 227Gravesend, Kent, 36 , 117, 218Gray, Mr . , a preacher , 251Green , Christopher , 278

Alice, 278Greenland, 52, 54Greenwich , 24, 31, 47, 65, 68,91, 99, 100, 117, 252, 293

Gresham , Sir Thomas , 57

Grey, Lady Jane, 261Griffith, Thomas, 268

Grindal, Edmund, Archbishop.

See Canterbury .

Gro sseteste, Robert, Bishop. See

Linco ln .

Grudius, Nico las, 30

334 INDEX

Holcot, Robert of, 245Ho lcro ft, Sir Thomas , 288

Ho linshed, Raphael, 245, 275Holland, Adam , 284

Richard, 282, 283Hone, Do ctor , 262Ho oker , Richard, 271Hooper , Walter , 38Hopwood ofHopw ood,Edmund,

269, 274

Ho rsham , Sussex, 81

Howard, Frances, 91 . See

Seymour .

Howard o f Efiingham , Charles,Lord Admiral o f theFleet, 46, 198, 258Katherine (Carey)

Lady, 46, 247Hudson, Mr . , 56

Thomas, 68Hull, Yo rks, 177, 275Hus, John, 146, 158

ID, 120, 121, 124

Ingram, Mr . , 66

Ireland, 238Islington , Middlesex, 105 , 106Italy, 246

Jsex, Robin, 58

Jackson, Char les, Captain, 57James I King, 31, 42 ; hisDemonologie, 292 ; firstParliament, 293 Act against

witchcraft, 293 Dee’

s

address to , 293Jones, Sir Thomas, 226

Mr 82

Jonson , Ben, 132, 159, 190, 213,225

Jonson, Mr . , a tailor , 252J ubanladec, 102, 118

Julio , Dr ., 277

KELLEY, Edward, birth , 77arrives under a

feigned name, 76 ; atOxford, 77 ; pillo riedat Lancaster , 77 ; lifeof him by Waite, 77

Dee’

s skryer , 87, 88 ;his tempers, 91, 94,106, 110, 113, 148

his doubts, 135, 136,157 ; skill in draftsmanship, 167 ; willreturn to England, 153;exper im ents , 193;

professestomakegold,178 ; letters to Dee,

179, 253; to Burleigh,205 ; mentioned, 4,37, 70, 101, 183, 212,

251, 254, 281, 285,

301 , 309, 310 ; his

death, 212Joan, w ife of Edward,115, 118, 135, 166,

168 , 182, 196, 197 ;

as Lady Kelley, 208Lydia, w ife of Thomas,195, 214

Thomas, 106, 145, 159,179, 191 ; marriage,

192 ; 194, 195, 202,

Kemp, Randall, 283Kent, Countess of, 251.Kepler , 45

INDEX

Kesmark , Hungary, 130, 131,138

Kew , Surrey, 44, 50, 229, 249Khunrath , Heinrich , 217Kiffen , Morrice, 251

Killigrew, Sir John, 66Krumlau, Bohemia , 176Kyrton, Elizabeth, 250

LAMBETH , 222 library, 245Lancashire, Hough Hall , 266 ;map o f, 266

Lancaster , 72, 77 Duchy of,266Langham , Captain , 302

Langley, William , 272, 283

Lask , Po land , 129, 131Laski, Albert, Count Palatineo f Siradia , 98 ; his arrival,99 ; introduced to Dee, 99

go es to Oxfo rd, 99 ; at Mo rt

lake, 99 ; pedigree, 101, 112 ;schemes , 107, 116, 117 ; takesDee and Kelley to Po land,116 property at Kesmark ,

130, 131 takes Dee to KingStephan , 166 ; gives Kelleymoney, 178 mentioned, 145,183 ; his relations w ith Dee,250 ; letters from , 248

Lee, Harry, 105Mr . , 67, 220

Mistress, 58

Kent, 48Leer , Ho lland, 120Leewarden , Ho lland, 119Legg, D o r othy , 250Legh, Mr ., 267

Mrs . , 267

335

Leicester , Earl of. See Dudley .

Leigh, Legh , Charles, the elder ,283

Charles , 270, 282, 288Robert, 282, 288

Leipsic, 168, 169

Lewis, D o cto r , 49John , 48

Lewisham , Kent, 64Leycester , Geo rge, 202, 215Leyden , Ho lland, 216Libavius , Andreas , 241Lilly, William , 81, 213

Limburg, Bohemia, 159Limehouse, Kent, 51Linco ln , Bishops of, RobertGro sseteste, 244 Dr .WilliamChadderton , 259, 264

Lister , Isabel, 269Littau, Bohemia, 140Livonia, 248Lloyd, Mr .

, Leicester’

s secre

tary, 100Lo ck, Benjamin , 50

Michael, 50Z achary , 50

London, Aldgate, 281 , 282

Barbican, 251 ; St.

Bo to lph’

s , 282 St.

Catherine ’

s Ho s

pital, Tower , 19

CharingCro ss, 122 ;Charterhouse, 308 ;Durham House,261 Fleet Street,252 Guildh all, 64 ;L in co l n ’

s In n

Fields , 19 Lom

bard Street, 82,312 Marshalsea

386

Prison, 251 ; St.

Mary Alderman

bury, 315 ; theMuscovy House, 90 ;RussellHouse, 266St. Paul’ s, 258 ;

Savoy, 258 Shoreditch, 219 ; Somerset House, 248,

258 SouthwarkBankside, 67, 219 ;K ing

’

s B en chPrison , 241 ; Paris

garden , 67 Winchester House, 98Strand , 261 Smithfield, St. Bartho lomew ’

s , 315;Temple,259 ; Tower , the,

81 , 239, 240 TowerHill, 283 Whitehall, 19 Wichcro ssStreet, 53 West

minster , 65. See

also Westminster

Abbey and Scho o l.London, Bishop of, EdmundBonner , 15 , 61

Long Leadenham , Linco lnshire,14

Lorraine, Duchy of, 31, 238Louvain,

Univer sity o f, 9 ;

students of, 10 ; CorneliusAgrippa, a resident there, 11,12, 29, 243, 245, 269

Low Countries, Dee in, 23,

119

Lubeck, 123, 124, 128Ludnitz , river , 175Lully, Raymond, 62, 153, 244

INDEX

Luresey, R . , 248

Lymm (Lyme) , Cheshire, 267

MADIMI, 101, 104, 105 , 107, 111,147, 159, 161, 185,

186, 189

Mallet, Walter , 257Manchester , Dee’s arrival in

,

264 ; Christ’s Co llege, 222,

233, 259, 264 ; Co llegiateChurch, 263, 297 ; m onthlylecture, 260 ; disputes o vertitles o f college lands , 264,266 , 270, 277, 278 , 279 , 287,

288, 292 ; mano r of Newton ,264, 280 ; Newton Heath,268 ; riot at, 273 survey of

Manchester, 266, 267 ; perambulation of bounds , 271 ;Grammar Scho o l, 280, 283,284 ; Fellows of the Co llege,259, 264 Deansgate, 286

Mansfeldt, Bruno Count, 217Mantua, Duke of, 10

Maps of Britain ,266 ; Dee

’s

map ofAmerica, 54

Margaret, Queen of the Netherlands, 11, 246

Marprelate press, 264Mary Queen o f Scots, Kelleyhas a vision of

, 95

Mary Tudo r , Queen, 14 ; Dee’

s

supplication to , 15, 255Maspely , Nur se, 57

Maximilian I., Emperor of

Austria, 11

I I . , Empero r o f

Austria, 23, 147

Magellan, Straits of, 57

338 INDEX

Museum , 37, 321 Bodleian ,

37, 312 mentioned, 25, 50,77, 99, 161, 167, 244, 261,

280 ; St. John’

s Co llege, 315 ,316 ; St. Mary's Hall, 315

Pxox mer on, Mr ., 57

Paget, Mr 262

Pagham , Sussex, 316

Palma , Matthew, 268Paracelsus, 62, 63, 83, 219, 221Paris, Co llege of Rheim s, 11

Dee in, 12 University, 12, 244Parker , Matthew, Archbishop.

See Canterbury.

Parkyns, Dr . Christopher , 202,214

Parliament, Dee’s address to

in 1603, 296

Parr , E lizabeth (Bro oke), Mar

chicness ofNorthampton , 24

Parry, Mistress Blanche, 29, 49Peckham , Sir Geo rge, 66Peiser, Michael, 251Pember, Robert, Greek Readerat Trinity Co llege, 7Pembroke, Earl of. See

Sidney.

Pentico st, Mr. , 95Percivall, a carrier , 261

Peregrinus , Petrus, 244Persia, 38, 68Peterborough, BishopSee Dee, Francis.

Petersham , Surrey, 58Pett, Arthur, Captain, 57Pezel, Dr . Christoph, 217, 218,270

Philpot, John, martyr , 15QUEENBOROUGH, 118

Quinsay . Sec China.

Piacenza, Bishop o f, 173

Pickering, Sir William ,10

Picus , Jo annes , 28Pierpoint, Mark , 249Pisa , Tuscany, 83Plato , philo sopher , 25 , 243Platz , near Neuhaus, 180Pliny , histo rian , 243

Plotinus , 75 , 144Po land, Crown o f, 98, 102, 116.

See also Stephan , King of.Pomponius Mela, geographer ,137

Pontoys, John, 249, 278, 299,300, 301

Poppel, Bohemian family of,210

Po sen , Prussia, 128, 129Powell (Pow il), Mr . , 67, 238

Prague, 26 , 145 , 146, 154, 174,175 , 178, 179, 184, 192, 199,

207 Cathedral, 159 ; 250,

251, 258, 307, 311

Presburg, Austria, 23Prestwich, near Manchester ,

272

Edmund, 220Isabella, 290, 308

Printing, introduction of, 21

Privy Council, 15, 20, 131, 231,258, 276, 279, 294

Pucci, Francisco , 166,180, 190, 191

Purglitz, Castle o f, Bohemia:209

Pye, Mr . , 81

INDEX

RADCLIFFE , Thomas , Ear l o f

Sussex , 65

Radclyffe, John,288

Radfo rd, Radfo rth , Mr .

, 68

Radno r , county, 5Raleigh, Sir Walter , 53, 68, 91,101, 112, 261

Raphael, 83, 188, 297, 298, 299,302

Reco rde, Ro bert, 241Reddish, near Manchester , 282,283

Redhead, Mr . ,249

Reinho ld, Erasmus, 176Dr . Victo r, 176

Reyno lds , Mr . , 52

Rich, Richard Lo rd, 99Richard K . , King, 245Richmond Park, 35, 47, 54, 55,67, 68, 91 , 219, 228, 292

Ripley, Geo rge, Canon o f Bridlingtou , 50 , 62, 194

Roderick the Great, Prince of

Wales , 5Rogers, Daniel, 52

John, 316

Martia , 316

Rolle, Richard (de Hampo le) ,245

Rome, University, 12 ; VaticanLibrary, 16 ; mentioned, 65 ,134, 167, 173

Ro senberg, Peter , Count, 174William , Count,

168, 172, 173, 174, 179 , 182,196 , 197, 199, 203, 208, 217,

Ro tterdam , 119

Rowley ,Edward, 214

Royal Co llege o fPhysicians ,308

339

Rudo lph II. , Empero r o f Aus

tria, 138, 142, 145 , 146 , 147,

150, 174, 175 , 182, 199, 201,208, 209 , 210, 302, 314

Rudow a, river , 133Russell, John, Lord, 99Russia (Muschovia) , 67, 176,177, 178, 184, 237, 309

SAALFELD , 173, 176

Sacheverell, Dr . , 315

Sacro bo sco , John, 244St. Albans, Herts , 245St. Davids, dio cese o f, 229

St. Dunstan, 62, 299 bo ok o f,

193

St. Isido re, Bishop of Seville,245

St. Neots, Hunts , 66Saint Sauveur , 25Salisbury, Ear l o f. See Cecil,Sir Robert.

San Clemente, Spanish Ambassado r , 147, 153

Saul, Barnabas, 68, 79, 81Saunders, Mr 249

Patrick, 298, 300Savile, Mr . Harry, 67, 266, 267,279

Saxony, John o f, 244

Saxton , Christopher , 266, 267Sco t, Reginald, 292Scoto , an Italian , 210

Scudam o re, Mr . ,58

Lady, 29, 57, 58257 their daughter , 58

Sefton ,Lancashire, 267

Seve , Vincent, 121, 122Seym our , Frances (Howard) ,Countess of Hertford, 91

340 INDEX

Shakespeare , William , 7, 37,219 Macbeth

,293

Sherborne, Do rset, 233Shugborough,Warw ickshire, 66,251

Sidney, Sir Henry , 129, 130

Sir Philip, 37, 49, 99,209 ; his widow re

mar ried, 260Henry, Ear l o f Pem

broke, 19, 30Lady, 31Lady , wife of Sir Philip

afterwards Lady E ssex, 190Sigilla iEmeth , 72

Silvio , Gulielm o , 23

Simkinson , Thomas , 177, 199

Simon , Alexander , 38Sion House, Isleworth , 31, 100115, 256

Sixtus V. , Pope, 168Sled, Char les, 92, 148Smehear st, Go odman, 273

Smith , Hugh , navigator , 57Thom as , autho r of a

Life o f Dee, 3

Dr . Richard, 14Snedgreene, 64

Sobislaus , Bohemia, 208So crates, philo sopher , 28So cinus , 167

Sontag,Emerich , Emericus , 147,148 , 150, 159

Southwell, Thomas, 196, 217

Spino la, Octavius, 150Staffo rd, Sir Edward, 49Standley, Mr . ,

272

Standysh , Mr .,272

Stanley,William , E arl o f Derby,259, 260

Stanley, Countess o f Derby,274

Sir William ,217

Stade, po rt of Bremen, 201 ,207, 217

State N ational Library, Dee

essays to found, 15, 61Stephan Batho ry, King o f

Po land, 98, 99, 138, 140, 161,165 ; his death, 165

Stephens , Ro bert, 270Stockpo rt, Cheshire, 283Stickhuysen, 120

Stoner , Mr . , 52

Stow , John , letter to from Dee,35 his Annals, 36, 239, 245

Strasburg University, 12Sussex, Earl of. See Radcliffe.

glass houses, 254Sutton , Thomas , founder of ‘

the

Charterhouse, 308Swarts, Peter Hans , 172SympatheticMagic, 19

TABLE of practice, described, 72Talbo t, Edward, 70, 71, 72, 76,128, 254. SeeKelley,Edward .

Tanfield, 103

Tatton , Robert, 202, 215

Tebaldo , Mr . , 164

Teblow , 272

Tergow d, Ho lland, 119Thames , the river , 35Theobalds, Herts , 205, 259Thomas , Robert, 261Thornton , Margery, 250Tilsley , Robert, 272To ley, John , 314, 315

Tomasin , Mrs. , 58

342 INDEX

Willes, Sir Thomas , 251 Wo od, Mr Clerk o f the Signet,Williams , Thomas , 259, 283

Willoughby , Lo rd, 251 Wo odfo rd, William of, 245

Wilson ,Dr . Thomas , Secretary Wo odall, John ,

82

o f State, 19 20 Thom as, 82

Wilton , Countess o f. SeeMary Woodsto ck, Oxon ,14

Sidney .

Wimbledon , parish o f, 48 Wo rcester , 13, 77, 78

Winchester , Bishop o f, Dr . Wo rms , Hesse, 65

William Day , 258 Wo rtley, Mr .,286

’

Winchester , St. Cro ss , 29, 225 , Wurzburg, Bavaria, 21233

,253, 254, 255, 256 , 258

Winchester. Scho o l, 255 YOUNG,Mr . Justice, 68,

Windso r,46 198, 216, 218

Wismar,Germany, 128 Yo rk, 267

Witchcraft in Lancashire, 268, Yo rkshire, map of, 266

Wo lley, Sir John, 231, 253 Z UYDER Z EE,119

BRADBURY, co . LD . , PRINTERs , LOND‘

ON AND ren ames .

John Dee - Forgotten Books

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