Sketches of early Scottish alchemists / by John Small.

  • Small, George.
Date:
1875
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Sketches of early Scottish alchemists / by John Small. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    quantity of faeces to be put into it, after wbicb it was directed to be sub¬ jected to the action of heat in an oven for “ sixtein weekes.” It was believed that by the decomposition of this matter venomous reptiles like scorpions would be generated, which would leave a piercing or penetrating power in the residuum, and this when applied to the baser metals would purify them into gold or silver. This process, described by Sir George, apparently had been found so efficacious that although ten pounds of Mercury had been put into the fluid, it is stated “zou suld haue had it all hard and fixt, and yett the watter no thing dirainished, hot 10 tymes stronger than if no mercury had been put into it.” ‘‘ The pott must be maid of zellow close earth weill baked, a good inche thik, of potters claye weill glased in the insyd, and then brunt againe in a potters oven, and the pott salbe in that fashion sett out above with a wyde mouth which must have a cover with a round hole in it, so wyd e as a mans fiste may easily pass tbroch it ; And the pott must have three strong feete, tuo great strong eares to carry it by, which is very materiall for him that will woorkeit, for if it suld crak or brek in pieces, if the ayre do but strik thy face it kills presently. “ Thairfoir when all the matter which must be in, is gathered togither into the pot, tak a good lute maid of potters clay, and mix it wuth bolus and rust of iron tempered with whitts of eggs and chopt hair, and mingle and worke thame weill togither, and lute zour pott ane inche thick thairwith, and mak a stopple of pot¬ ters earth weill brunt to shut close in the hole that is in the top of the cover of the pott, and lute the pott and the cover very close togither, so as no ayre may brek furth, and when any craks cum into it, in the drying of the lute, dawbe thame up againe, and when the lute is perfectly drie in the sunne, then take a course linen cloth or canvas, and soke it weill in the whitts of eggs mixt with iron rust, and spred this cloth round about the luting, and then wett it weill again with whitts of eggs and vpon the luting; wett it befoir zow put on tho cloth hot stop not vp the eares of the pott with the cloth because of removing to and fro, and tak good cair and provyd that the luting crak not which the cloth will hold in, as also the prope and the cover togither, and thus zour pott is prae- pared. In the mids of May tak this pott thus praepared and shut zourself vp in zour chalmer, not coming into the ayre, till suche tyme as zou haue done the business zou propose to doe. (And thrust or wring a thik linen cloth, in the hole in the top of the cover, so that no ayre may brek furth at any parte of the pott.) “ In this chalmer zow most remaine four or six dayes, and from the first day zou enter into zour chamber till the end, lett zour dyett be eggs drest in wyne vinager, rye or wheaten bread which zou best lyke, good store of butter, Ehenishe