Sympathetic Theater

I again immerse the garter in the water, by which act, even if the house was barely two paces away, he had found his master without pain and feeling well; indeed, even before he had reached home, all torture had already ceased completely. And to sum up in a few words: the pain had vanished entirely, and within five or six days, the wound had been brought to a scar and perfectly healed. King James wanted to be informed of every single circumstance of this cure; and when it was brought to completion, he desired to know from me (jokingly calling me a sorcerer and a magician at the beginning, which he was accustomed to do often, and very festively) by what reason and mode it had been performed. I answered him: that I would indeed always be most ready to execute the commands of His Majesty, but I humbly asked that, before I proceeded further, he would allow me to recount what the Author, who had communicated this secret to me, had once said to the Grand Duke of Florence upon such an occasion. This was a monk of the Carmelite order, who had recently returned to Florence from India and Persia; indeed, he had even traveled through the kingdom of China. Since he had healed many people upon his return to Tuscany, not without the great admiration of men, the Duke had signified to him that he burned with the greatest desire to learn this secret from him. There was