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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It is not to be forgotten, that when Hona­uer had broke his day, hee was imprisoned at Struckgart: where escaping, proclamation was made, that any one who apprehended him, should haue three hundred guildrens: and so in short time he was soone caught.