In his reply, Signor Mannetti declared that the Borgia bed continued to be a source of extreme satisfaction and comfort to him.

“As yet no vision has broken my slumbers, but I continue to hope that the Oriental features of Sultan Bajazet’s brother may presently revisit the place of his taking off, and that Prince Djem will some night afford me the pleasure of a conversation.  How much might we tell each other that neither of us knows!

“As to the wire, my friend, I will explain to you how that was probably created and, right or wrong, there is nobody on this earth at present who can prove my theory to be mistaken.  Be sure that a medieval alchemist, searching in vain for elixir vitae, or the philosopher’s stone, chanced upon this infernal synthesis and fusion.  For him, no doubt, it proved a philosopher’s stone in earnest, for the Borgia always extended a generous hand to those who could assist their damnable activities.  Transmutation—­so a skilled friend assures me—­is now proved to be a fact, and another generation will be able perhaps to make gold, if the desire for that accursed mineral continues much longer to dominate mankind.

“Farewell for the present.  Again to see you and your daughter is one of those pleasures lying in wait for me, to make next winter a season of gladness rather than dismay.  But do not change your minds.  One must keep faith with a man of eighty, or risk the possibilities of remorse.”