ea,
by the force of his incantations. He did not lay claim to the merit of
having discovered the philosopher's stone; but devoted so much of his time
to the operations of alchymy, that it was very generally believed, that if
such a thing as the philosopher's stone had ever existed, or could be
called into existence, he was the man to succeed in finding it.

It has never yet been discovered what was his real name, or in what
country he was born. Some believed, from the Jewish cast of his handsome
countenance, that he was the "wandering Jew;" others asserted that he was
the issue of an Arabian princess, and that his father was a salamander;
while others, more reasonable, affirmed him to be the son of a Portuguese
Jew established at Bourdeaux. He first carried on his imposture in
Germany, where he made considerable sums by selling an elixir to arrest
the progress of old age. The Marechal de Belle-Isle purchased a dose of
it; and was so captivated with the wit, learning, and good manners of the
charlatan, and so convinced of the justice of his most preposterous
pretensions, that he induced him to fix his residence in Paris. Under the
marshal's patronage, he first appeared in the gay circles of that capital.
Every one was delighted with the mysterious stranger; who, at this period
of his life, appears to have been about seventy years of age, but did not
look more than forty-five. His easy assurance imposed upon most people.
His reading was extensive, and his memory extraordinarily tenacious of the
slightest circumstances. His pretension to have lived for so many
centuries naturally exposed him to some puzzling questions, as to the
appearance, life, and conversation of the great men of former days; but he
was never at a loss for an answer. Many who questioned him for the purpose
of scoffing at him, refrained in perplexity, quite bewildered by his
presence of mind, his ready replies, and his astonishing accuracy on every
point mentioned in history. To increase the mystery by which he was
surrounded, he permitted no person to know how he lived. He dressed in a
style of the greatest magnificence; sported valuable diamonds in his hat,
on his fingers, and in his shoe-buckles; and sometimes made the most
costly presents to the ladies of the court. It was suspected by many that
he was a spy, in the pay of the English ministry; but there never was a
tittle of evidence to support the charge. The king looked upon him with
marked favour,