Glastonbury, by means of which, as was said, Kelly for a length of time
supported himself in princely splendour.

I inquired whether he had discovered the blacker than black of Apollonius
Tyaneus; and this, he assured me, he had effected; it was itself the
powder of projection for producing gold.

Amidst all this delusion and illusion on these subjects, Mr. Kellerman
behaved in other respects with great propriety and politeness; and having
unlocked the door, he took me to the doors of some of the other rooms, to
show me how safely they were padlocked; and on taking leave, directed me
in my course towards Bedford.

In a few minutes, I overtook a man, and on inquiring what the people
thought of Mr. Kellerman, he told me that he had lived with him for seven
years; that he was one of eight assistants whom he kept for the purpose
of superintending his crucibles, two at a time relieving each other every
six hours; that he had exposed some preparations to intense heat for many
months at a time, but that all except one crucible had burst, and that he
called on him to observe, that it contained the true "blacker than black."
The man protested, however, that no gold had ever been made, and that no
mercury had ever been fixed; for he was quite sure, that if he had made
any discovery, he could not have concealed it from the assistants; while,
on the contrary, they witnessed his severe disappointments, at the
termination of his most elaborate experiments.

On my telling the man that I had been in his room, he seemed much
astonished at my boldness; for he assured me, that he carried a loaded
pistol in every one of his six waistcoat pockets. I learnt also from this
man, that he has or had considerable property in Jamaica; that he has