Dee and Kelly being in the confines of the Emperor’s dominions, in a city where resided many English merchants, with whom they had much familiarity, there happened an old Friar to come to Dr. Dee’s lodging.  Knocking at the door, Dee peeped down the stairs.  ‘Kelly,’ says he, ‘tell the old man I am not at home.’  Kelly did so.  The Friar said, ’I will take another time to wait on him.’  Some few days after, he came again.  Dee ordered Kelly, if it were the same person, to deny him again.  He did so; at which the Friar was very angry.  ’Tell thy master I came to speak with him and to do him good, because he is a great scholar and famous; but now tell him, he put forth a book, and dedicated it to the Emperor:  it is called Monas Hierogliphicas.  He understands it not.  I wrote it myself, I came to instruct him therein, and in some other more profound things.  Do thou, Kelly, come along with me, I will make thee more famous than thy master Dee.’

Kelly was very apprehensive of what the Friar delivered, and thereupon suddenly retired from Dee, and wholly applied unto the Friar; and of him either had the Elixir ready made, or the perfect method of its preparation and making.  The poor Friar lived a very short time after:  whether he died a natural death, or was otherwise poisoned or made away by Kelly, the merchant, who related this, did not certainly know.

How Kelly died afterwards at Prague, you well know:  he was born at Worcester, had been an apothecary.  Not above thirty years since he had a sister lived in Worcester, who had some gold made by her brother’s projection.

Dr. Dee died at Mortlack in Surrey, very poor, enforced many times to sell some book or other to buy his dinner with, as Dr. Napier of Linford, in Buckinghamshire, oft related, who knew him very well.

I have read over his book of Conference with Spirits, and thereby perceive many weaknesses in the manage of that way of Mosaical learning:  but I conceive, the reason why he had not more plain resolutions, and more to the purpose, was, because Kelly was very vicious, unto whom the angels were not obedient, or willingly did declare the questions propounded; but I could give other reasons, but those are not for paper.

I was very familiar with one Sarah Skelhorn, who had been Speculatrix unto one Arthur Gauntlet about Gray’s-Inn-Lane, a very lewd fellow, professing physick.  This Sarah had a perfect sight, and indeed the best eyes for that purpose I ever yet did see.  Gauntlet’s books, after he was dead, were sold, after I had perused them, to my scholar Humphreys:  there were rare notions in them.  This Sarah lived a long time, even until her death, with one Mrs. Stockman in the Isle of Purbeck, and died about sixteen years since.  Her mistress one time being desirous to accompany her mother, the Lady Beconsfield, unto London, who lived twelve miles from her habitation, caused Sarah to inspect her crystal, to see if she, viz. her