Merlin's Gold

 Merlin’s Gold.

Sitting in my old armchair with the cushions piled high behind my back, I was so taken in with my book that I forgot the place and the time. In other words, I was living with the characters in my book. The story being told is about the wizard or as some call him Merlin the sorcerer. Merlin is tied up with trying to make gold from base metals. He has tried lead because of its weight then copper because of its colour , with tin he had no luck. Try as hard as he could it was not possible for him to make gold out of any of the metals he experimented with.

Merlin’s apprentice suggested that his master Merlin should ask for help from someone that used metals every day. “The blacksmith is always making things like horseshoes and suits of armour he should know about metals, why he even makes the rims for the wheel smith”, said the apprentice. Merlin looked at his apprentice for a few seconds then he made up his mind. “Go and fetch the black smith,” he told the apprentice. Off went the apprentice to the black smith and told him that Merlin wanted him to help make gold for King Arthur. The black smith thought the whole thing was nonsense but he did not dare say no to someone like Merlin.

Going with some fear in his heart the smith went to Merlin. “How would you turn metal into gold? Asked Merlin. “I do not know Sire,” said the honest blacksmith, “all I can tell you about metal is that when I heat it up in my charcoal fire the metal changes colour, when it is very hot it looks nearly white in colour but as it cools down it turns to a gold colour then back to a black metal. This answer gave Merlin an idea. “Take this metal and show me how the metal changes its colour perhaps the secret to making gold is when it changes colour from white hot into a golden colour,” The smith went to Merlin’s charcoal fire and got the apprentice to pump the bellows to blow air into the coals. Soon a red-hot glow as the charcoal burnt fiercely in the fireplace. The smith took a piece of iron and with his tongs he pushed the metal into the middle of the glowing coals. The apprentice pumped away on the bellows sparks flew in the air above the metal the iron turned colour as the smith had said. Merlin watched each move that the smith made. The iron got very hot and changed colour nearly white and as the smith took the iron from the fire it slowly turned a golden colour.

Merlin took a handful of special herbs that he had got from the royal gardens and others that he had found in the woods around Camelot. Throwing the herbs onto the hot iron Merlin waited to see what effect they would have on the iron. The herbs quickly changed colour and burnt quickly away to ash. The iron as the smith had said changed its colour back from gold to black. Merlin being very disappointed told the smith to go back to his smiths and carry on making his horseshoes and his suits of armour. The black smith trying to hide his relief at being told to go back to his work went on his way.
Merlin tried and tried with all kinds of metals to make gold. He never did find the secret that he so desperately seeked. The apprentice after serving six long years in the service of Merlin was dismissed and went on his way. Merlin had been a good master but his search for how to make gold was not to the apprentices liking.

The apprentice wandered off and walked from village to village, from town to town, he collected herbs and made all kinds of medicines for the people of those far off days. He did not become as famous as Merlin but he was known far and wide for his knowledge of making sick people well. One day as wandered over the countryside of England he met a man that was suffering from some very nasty boils. Taking some herbal paste from his pocket he smeared the poor man that was really suffering from the pain of the boils all over the man’s body. In three hours there was not a boil to be seen the man was completely cured of his boils. The man was so grateful he told the apprentice who was now a wizard in his own right that he would grant him one wish to repay him for his kindness. The apprentice thought for a moment. “Could you tell me the secret of how to make gold?” “That is no secret,” said the man. “Can you read and write?” “Yes said the new wizard I was apprenticed to Merlin, he taught me how to read and write.” “Take the letters that form the word GOLD and rearrange them, If you do this in the right way you can nearly anything into gold. The apprentice went on his way after thanking the man. He arranged the four letters in his head, He found a few words but none made sense. Dlog, lodg, godl, try as he would he could never make any gold there was no way to make the four letters into gold unless one wrote or spelt the word G O L D. After a while he went back to collecting his herbs and making medicines. He became quite well off and as far as I know, Merlin is still looking for a way to make gold from base metals. As for the new wizard he is often seen to have a smile on his face. Was it what the man with the boils had told him about gold? He never really got the wish that he asked for is that the secret of his smile?