"A subtle sophist," said the cardinal, with a smile.
The king listened in silence, and, full of Paracelsus, the doctor continued—
"Thus, please your eminence, by identifying himself with the celestial intelligences, hath this wondrous physician so nearly attained a knowledge of the philosopher's stone, and, by curing all diseases, raised to his fame a monument based on the four quarters of the earth. And doubtless if he prolongeth his own life, as he doth that of others, in time to come he will attain the secret of that other powerful ELIXIR, by which Adam and the patriarchs prolonged their lives before the Deluge—yea, even unto nine centuries."
"Gramercy me!" said the cardinal; "and beware thee, John! this man whom thou upholdest glories in the fame of his sorcery, and openly boasts of receiving from Galen letters that are dated from Hell, and also of his recent disputes held with Avicenna at the gate of that dread abode—disputes on the transmutation of metals, the elixir of the patriarchs, and the quintessence of the Mithridate; for I heard of all these things when I was studying the canon law at Paris. He blasphemously takes as his primary supports the writings of the holy fathers; and while asserting that the blessed Gospels lead to all manner of truth, dares to add, that magical medicine can be learned by the study of the Apocalypse alone."
"Enough of this, lord cardinal," said the king, impatiently observing that the doctor was angrily adjusting his velvet cap preparatory to returning to the charge; "enough of this jargon, amid which my poor Magdalene will probably die."
"It may be so, though God avert it; for the disease is all but beyond my skill; and I dread to state my suspicions, now that both my nepenthe and opobalsamum have failed."
"Thy suspicions?" reiterated the cardinal.
"I know them already," said the king, gloomily. "Like the Countess of Arran, thou wouldest say that she is under a spell?"
"Which nothing but a counter-spell can break."
"Mother of God!" said the king, "I cannot believe in such things! Lord cardinal, dost thou?"