It therefore seems that the prejudice in favor of a black or at least a dark background for the crystal did not appeal to Dr. Dee, and indeed the effect of color may perhaps better serve to neutralize troublesome reflections than does black. The personages Kelley pretended to see in or around the magic crystal were described by him to Dr. Dee in the greatest detail, and this undoubtedly served to lend more reality and authority to their communications. As an illustration of Kelley’s inventiveness in this matter, we may take his description of “Nalvage,” a spirit that first appeared while the doctor and his famulus were in Cracow, April 10, 1584, and was subsequently a frequent visitor. The seer introduces his new “control” as follows:[291] He hath a Gown of white silk, with a Cape with three pendants with tassels on the end of them all green; it is fur, white, and seemeth to shine, with a wavering glittering. On his head is nothing, he hath no berd. His phisiognomy is like the pictures of King Edward the Sixth; his hair hangeth down a quarter of the length of the Cap, somewhat curling, yellow. He hath a rod or wand in his hand, almost as big as my little finger; it is of Gold, and divided into three equal parts, with a brighter Gold than the rest. He standeth upon his round table of Christal, or rather Mother of Pearl. When reading the words spoken by Kelley and so carefully preserved by Dr. Dee, we are reminded, aside from the archaic turn of speech, of the minute descriptions so glibly given by modern mediums. It is true that lately, in America, the spirits of the former owners of the land, of the blameless aborigines, seem to have acquired a quasi monopoly of the intercourse with the other world. Most of the early records of crystal-gazing show conclusively enough that the images revealed in the stone were produced by the expectations, the hopes, or the fears of the gazer. In many cases, indeed, the vision is only prophetic because it determines the future conduct of the person who consults the stone. Fully persuaded that what has been seen must come to pass, he, or she, proceeds more or less consciously to make it happen, to fulfil the prediction.