It affords a striking proof to what an extent the delusions of alchemy prevailed in that age, that the strong-minded Richelieu instantly grasped at the bubble which floated before him. Had only the weak Louis done so, there would have been no cause for wonder. But the minister was full as eager as his nominal sovereign. It was arranged that Dubois should perform the “great work” in the presence of the king, the queen, and a throng of illustrious personages. The Louvre was the place at which the new and never-failing gold mine was to be opened. When the important day arrived, Dubois adroitly acted in a manner which was calculated to inspire confidence. He requested that some one might be charged to keep an eye on his proceedings. One of his body guards, named Saint Amour, was chosen by the king for this purpose. Musket balls, given by a soldier, together with a grain of the powder of projection, were placed in a crucible, the whole was covered with cinders, and the furnace fire was soon raised to a proper pitch. The transmutation was now declared by Dubois to be accomplished, and he requested that Louis would himself blow off the ashes from the precious contents of the crucible. Eager to see the first specimen of the boundless riches which were about to flow in upon him, the king plied the bellows with such violence, that the eyes of the queen and many of the courtiers were nearly blinded with the dust. At last a lump of gold emerged to view, and his transports were boundless. He hugged Dubois with childish rapture, ennobled him, and appointed him president of the treasury, nominated Blondeau a privy counsellor, promised a cardinal’s hat to Father Joseph, and gave eight thousand livres to Saint Amour. The master of perennial treasures could afford to be generous. The experiment is said to have been repeated, and with the same success as in the first instance. Dubois must at least have been a clever knave, an adept in legerdemain, to have deluded so many strongly interested spectators, and that, too, in spite of the precautions which he had himself daringly recommended, for the prevention of fraud.