Reading Notes: Canterbury Tales, Part B

(An alchemist demonstrating his skills; source: Wikipedia)

Plot:

• There once lived a priest in London who was so kind to the lady he shared a house with that she never let him pay for food or boarding. This meant he had some dispensable cash.
• One day, a false canon (member of the clergy) came to the priest and asked him for a small loan. He swore that he would return it exactly on time and followed through with his promise.
• The priest was very impressed by the canon's punctuality and said he wouldn't mind giving someone like him any amount of wealth because they were trustworthy.
• The canon offers to repay the priest's kindness by teaching him the skill of philosophy (alchemy). When the priest eagerly agrees, he asks for the priest to send his yeoman to fetch some quicksilver and coals.
• Once they acquired these materials, the canon pulled out his crucible and asked the priest to place some quicksilver in it before placing it on the coals. The canon claims that he will turn the quicksilver into real silver by using a special powder. He requests that the priest send his yeoman away, for this is a top secret.
• The canon says that he will allow the priest to do everything himself so that he gets practice and is able to do it on his own. The canon blew some of the powder into the crucible and ordered the priest to stack coal on top of the crucible.
• While the priest was doing this, the canon secretively pulled out some beechen (messed up) coal that he had filled with real silver and stoppered with wax. The canon praised the priest's hard work and gave him a cloth with which to wipe his face. When the priest's face was covered, the canon placed the beechen coal in the pile above the crucible.
• The canon claimed the work was done and that they eat and drink. When he was sure the silver from the beechen coal had melted into the crucible, he went with the priest to get some chalk to make a mould. The canon slyly made a mould the same size as a small silver plate he hid in his sleeve. 
• He invited the priest to feel around in the crucible. When the priest found the silver shavings, he was ecstatic and overjoyed.
• The canon suggests that they repeat the process for more practice. The priest was enthusiastic and began to blow on the coals. Meanwhile, the canon blew the powder into the crucible and prodded the coals with a hollow stick full of silver. He did this until all the silver from the stick melted into the crucible.
• The priest was extremely pleased and said he would do anything for the canon. The canon asks the priest whether there is copper in the house. The priest returned with the copper and they began the procedure again. This time, the canon asked the priest to stoop down while he replaced the copper with the silver plate he hid in his sleeve.
• The priest was once again satisfied and the canon suggested that they go to the goldsmith to test if this was all real silver which it was. The priest was happy beyond belief and offered the canon any amount of money for giving him the recipe. The canon pretended to give him a discount and asked him for 40 pounds which the priest gladly gave him. The canon told the priest to keep his identity a secret which the priest agreed to.
• The canon went his way and when the poor priest tried the recipe, he found no silver.

Characters:

• Priest - trusts too easily, what reason does the canon have to offer him this recipe?
• Canon - clever, resourceful man, knows how to manipulate people

Bibliography. The Chaucer Story Book by Eva March Tappan (1908).