26G NEW ATLANTTS. in silence. The street was wonderfully well kept ; so that there was never any army had their men stand in better battle-array, than the people stood. The windows likewise were not crowded, but every one stood in them as if they had been placed. When the show was past, the Jew said to me, " I shall not be able to attend you as I would, in regard of some charge the city hath laid upon me, for the entertaining of this great person." Three days after the Jew came to me again, and said ; " Ye are happy men ; for the father of So lomon s House taketh knowledge of your being here, and commanded me to tell you, that he will admit all your company to his presence, and have private conference with one of you that ye shall choose; and for this hath appointed the next day after to-morrow. And because he meaneth to give you his blessing, he hath appointed it in the forenoon." We came at our day and hour, and I was chosen by my fellows for the private access. We found him in a fair chamber, richly hanged, and carpeted under foot, without any degrees to the state ; he was set upon a low throne richly adorned, and a rich cloth of state over his head, of blue satin embroidered. He was alone, save that he had two pages of honour, on either hand one, finely attired in white. His under-garments were the like that we saw him wear in the chariot; but instead of his gown, he had on him a mantle with a cape, of the same fine black, fastened about him. When we came in, as we were taught, we bowed low at our first en trance ; and when we were come near his chair, he stood up, holding forth his hand ungloved, and in posture of blessing ; and we every one of us stooped down, and kissed the hem of his tip pet. That done, the rest departed, and I remained. Then he warned the pages forth of the room, and caused me to sit down beside him, and spake to me thus in the Spanish tongue : " God bless thee, my son ; I will give thee the greatest jewel I have. For I will impart unto thee, for the love of God and men, a rela tion of the true state of Solomon s House. Son, to make you know the true state of Solomon s House, I will keep this order. First, I will set forth unto you the end of our foundation. Se condly, the preparations and instruments we have for our works. Thirdly, the several employ ments and functions whereto our fellows are as- wigned. And, fourthly, the ordinances and rites which we observe. " The end of our foundation is the knowledge of causes, and secret motions of things; and the unlarging of the bounds of human empire, to the effecting of all things possible. " The preparations and instruments are these. We have large and deep caves of several depths ; the deepest are sunk six hundred tatnom : an some of them are digged and made under gre; hills and mountains : so that if you reckon t gether the depth of the hill, and the depth of tl cave, they are, some of them, above three mil* deep. For we, find that the depth of a hill, ar the depth of a cave from the flat is the same thine both remote alike from the sun and heaven beams, and from the open air. These caves we ca the lower region. And we use them for all c agulations, indurations, refrigerations, and coi servations of bodies. We use them likewise fi the imitation of natural mines : and the pr ducing also of new artificial metals, by comp< sitions and materials which we use and lay the for many years. We use them also sometime which may seem strange, for curing of son diseases, and for prolongation of life, in son hermits that choose to live there, well accon modated of all things necessary, and indeed In very long ; by whom also we learn many thing; " We have burials in several earths, where v put divers cements, as the Chinese do their pore lain. But we have them in greater variety, ar some of them more fine. We have also great v; riety of composts, and soils, for the making of tl earth fruitful. " We have high towers, the highest about half mile in height; and some of them likewise s< upon high mountains; so that the vantage of t hill with the tower, is in the highest of them thrt miles at least. And these places we call the uppi region : accounting the air between the high plac< and the low, as a middle region. We use thes towers according to their several heights and situ; tions, for insolation, refrigeration, conservatioi and for the view of divers meteors ; as winds, rail snow, hail, and some of the fiery meteors alsi And upon them, in some places, are dwellings c hermits, whom we visit sometimes, and instrui what to observe. "We have great lakes both salt and fresh, wherer we have use for the fish and fowl. We use thei also for burials of some natural bodies; for w find a difference in things buried in earth, or in ai below the earth ; and things buried in water! W have also pools, of which some do strain fres water out of salt ; and others by art do turn fres water into salt. W r e have also some rocks in th midst of the sea : and some bays upon the shot for some works, wherein is required the air and v; pour of the sea. We have likewise violent stream and cataracts, which serve us for many motions and likewise engines for multiplying and enforc ing of winds, to set also on going divers motions " We have also a number of artificial wells an fountains, made in imitation of the natural source and baths: as tincted upon vitriol, sulphur, stee brass, lead, nitre, and other minerals. An again, we have little wells for infusions of man things, where the waters take th: virtue quick*
