In one instance three young noblemen applied to Faustus, having been
very desirous to be present at the marriage of the son of the duke of
Bavaria at Mentz, but having overstaid the time, in which it would
have been possible by human means to accomplish the journey. Faustus,
to oblige them, led them into his garden, and, spreading a large
mantle upon a grass-plot, desired them to step on it, and placed
himself in the midst. He then recited a certain form of conjuration.
At the same time he conditioned with them, that they should on no
account speak to any one at the marriage, and, if spoken to, should
not answer again. They were carried invisibly through the air, and
arrived in excellent time. At a certain moment they became visible,
but were still bound to silence. One of them however broke the
injunction, and amused himself with the courtiers. The consequence was
that, when the other two were summoned by the doctor to return, he was
left behind. There was something so extraordinary in their sudden
appearance, and the subsequent disappearance of the others, that he
who remained was put in prison, and threatened with the torture the
next day, if he would not make a full disclosure. Faustus however
returned before break of day, opened the gates of the prison, laid all
the guards asleep, and carried off the delinquent in triumph.
On one occasion Faustus, having resolved to pass a jovial evening,
took some of his old college-companions, and invited them to make free
with the archbishop of Saltzburgh's cellar. They took a ladder, and
scaled the wall. They seated themselves round, and placed a
three-legged stool, with bottles and glasses in the middle. They were
in the heart of their mirth, when the butler made his appearance, and
began to cry thieves with all his might. The doctor at once conjured
him, so that he could neither speak nor move. There he was obliged to
sit, while Faustus and his companions tapped every vat in the cellar.
They then carried him along with them in triumph. At length they came
to a lofty tree, where Faustus ordered them to stop; and the butler
was in the greatest fright, apprehending that they would do no less
than hang him. The doctor however was contented, by his art to place
him on the topmost branch, where he was obliged to remain trembling
and almost dead with the cold, till certain peasants came out to their
work, whom he hailed, and finally with great difficulty they rescued
him from his painful eminence, and placed him safely on the ground.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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