The alchymist, according to the custom of the inquisition, was kept in complete ignorance of his accuser; of the witnesses produced against him; even of the crimes of which he was accused.  He was examined generally, whether he knew why he was arrested, and was conscious of any guilt that might deserve the notice of the holy office?  He was examined as to his country, his life, his habits, his pursuits, his actions, and opinions.  The old man was frank and simple in his replies; he was conscious of no guilt, capable of no art, practised in no dissimulation.  After receiving a general admonition to bethink himself whether he had not committed any act deserving of punishment and to prepare, by confession, to secure the well known mercy of the tribunal, he was remanded to his cell.

He was now visited in his dungeon by crafty familiars of the inquisition, who, under pretence of sympathy and kindness, came to beguile the tediousness of his imprisonment with friendly conversation.  They casually introduced the subject of alchymy, on which they touched with great caution and pretended indifference.  There was no need of such craftiness.  The honest enthusiast had no suspicion in his nature:  the moment they touched upon his favourite theme, he forgot his misfortunes and imprisonment, and broke forth into rhapsodies about the divine science.

The conversation was artfully turned to the discussion of elementary beings.  The alchymist readily avowed his belief in them; and that there had been instances of their attending upon philosophers, and administering to their wishes.  He related many miracles said to have been performed by Apollonius Thyaneus, through the aid of spirits or demons; insomuch that he was set up by the heathens in opposition to the Messiah; and was even regarded with reverence by many Christians.  The familiars eagerly demanded whether he believed Apollonius to be a true and worthy philosopher.  The unaffected piety of the alchymist protected him even in the midst of his simplicity; for he condemned Apollonius as a sorcerer and an impostor.  No art could draw from him an admission that he had ever employed or invoked spiritual agencies in the prosecution of his pursuits, though he believed himself to have been frequently impeded by their invisible interference.

The inquisitors were sorely vexed at not being able to inveigle him into a confession of a criminal nature; they attributed their failure to craft, to obstinacy, to every cause but the right one, namely, that the harmless visionary had nothing guilty to confess.  They had abundant proof of a secret nature against him; but it was the practice of the inquisition to endeavour to procure confession from the prisoners.  An auto da fe was at hand; the worthy fathers were eager for his conviction, for they were always anxious to have a good number of culprits condemned to the stake, to grace these solemn triumphs.  He was at length brought to a final examination.