On one occasion the lot fell on Henry de Villena, son of the marquis
of the same name. He having perceived that there had been trick and
shuffling in the casting of the lot, and suspecting the Sacristan to
be cognizant thereof, refused to pay. He was forthwith left in
limbo. It so happened that in a dark corner of the Sacristy was a huge
jar or earthen reservoir for water, which was cracked and empty. In
this the youth contrived to conceal himself. The Sacristan returned at
night with a servant, bringing lights and a supper. Unlocking the
door, they found no one in the vault, and a book of magic lying open
on the table. They retreated in dismay, leaving the door open, by
which Villena made his escape. The story went about that through magic
he had made himself invisible.
The reader has now both versions of the story, and may make his
choice. I will only observe that the sages of the Alhambra incline
to the diabolical one.
This Henry de Villena flourished in the time of Juan II, King of
Castile, of whom he was uncle. He became famous for his knowledge of
the Natural Sciences, and hence, in that ignorant age was
stigmatized as a necromancer. Fernan Perez de Guzman, in his account
of distinguished men, gives him credit for great learning, but says he
devoted himself to the arts of divination, the interpretation of
dreams, of signs, and portents.
At the death of Villena, his library fell into the hands of the
King, who was warned that it contained books treating of magic, and
not proper to be read.
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