The Golden Fleece, or Golden Treasury and Cabinet of Art

English tin look like the best silver; they sold much of it. I offered myself to serve them, if it were agreeable to them. The Jew persuaded the merchant that he should take me on as a servant, and I had to tend the fire when they made their art with the tin. I was diligent, and it pleased them well, and for that reason they kept nothing hidden from me. Thus I learned the art too, which proceeded with poisonous substances, and I was with them for 14 weeks.

Afterwards I traveled with the Jew to Venice. He sold a Turkish merchant nearly 40 pounds of the silver. While he was dealing with the merchant, I took 6 Loth units of weight of the silver, went to a goldsmith who had two journeymen, who could speak Latin, and requested that he test the silver for me. Then he directed me across St. Mark's Square to an assayer who was very stately and rich. He had three German assaying journeymen who performed such things quickly on the test with very sharp substances, and afterwards drove it from the cupel.