The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-07-13

vanished as unaccountably--me who, if the
| theory of the science were true, might have
welded more than the power of the united
Rothschild family, and emulated the spen-
doris of Monte Cristo, yet who came and went
poor and haggard, and left no trace behind
| Such was the Unknown" who appeared to
the philosophic DIR. Helvetius, body-physician
to a Prince of Orange, in the seventeenth
century, and converted him from incredulity
to the most enthusiastic belief. This IN
known came into the Doctors
study one day, in the shape of respectable
burgher of North Holland, and drew from
his pocket a small ivory box containing three
heavy pieces of metal, birthstone -colored and
brittle, from which Helvetius scraped q small
portion with his thumb-nail. The stranger
declined performing any feat of transmutation
himself saying he was mot allowed to do So
Helvetius experimental in vain with the
parings he had scraped off; bat on a second
visit the mysterious burgher proved more
compliant, and after helping Helvetius
to a successful operation, he left him
in possession of certain directions by
means of which he contrived to change
six ounces of lead into very pure gold when
alone. The Hague rang with the fame of his
exploit; and the operation was successfully
repeated in presence of the Prince of Orange
Moreover, the gold was examined by the
authorities Of the Mint, and pronounced
genuine. At last the magic powder was ex-
haused, and, as the Unknown never visited
him again, DIR. Hevetius was compelled to,
bring his experiments to an end. But he
published in 1861 a learned work called the
Golden Calf, maintaining the truth of the
doctrines he had once derided: and the skep-
tical philosopher Spinoza averred, after strict
inquiry into the truth of the events narrated,
that the evidence of that case of transmuta-
ton was sufficient TO make a convert of HIM
self.
Another picturesque tale current among
the records of Continental alchemy is that of
Professor Martini of Helmstadt, who died in
1921, and was a supercilious foe of the art in
the early part of his career, strenuously con-
| testing in his lectures the arguments adduced
in its behalf. The unknown in this case
was foreign nobleman, who had just arrived
at Helmstadt, and took his place one day in
the lecture-haD. After listening for while
| to Martinis self-satisfied expositions, he
courteously interrupted the lecturer, Offering
| to refute his opinions experimentally. A pan
of Goals, a crucible, and some lead, were
| brought in at his desire. short manipula-
ton ensued; and 10! the lead had acquired the
form and substance of fine gold, which the
nobleman handed over to the astounded pro-
| fessor with the modest words, ''Solve mihi
hume syllogismum."
DR.. Erdmann cites Van Helmont's testi-
| mony to the existence of the philosophers
stone as one of the most difficult to treat with
| contempt on account of the unquestionable
| integrity and scientific sagacity of the in
quirer. Van Helmont loved truth with sin
cere devotion. A Brabant nobleman by birth,
| he renounced his rank and possessions to turn
| physician to study nature, and do good
works. His discoveries in medicine are of
| lasting value. He never professed to give
alchemy more than second place in his in
| terest; yet he AYERS that in 1918 he himself
| ph al oh of cl<SilV
gold by means of a substance given him from
| time to time by an unknown visitor He never
learned the secret of making the stone him
self, but he describes it as a heavy powder Of
the color of saffron, glittering like rather
coarse grained glass.
In the seventeenth century the fantastic
doctrines of Paracelsus fertilized in men S
minds to all sorts of extravagant outgrowths
The English quacks, Fludd, Dee, and Kelly,
the German mystic Jacob Bohme, were noted
Rosicrucans of that period. Men now took
to binding themselves into societies for the
prosecution of their occult researches, instead
of, as heretofore, brooding over them in soli-
tary devotion. The ''Alchemical Society of
Nuremberg was eXtant in 100, and one of its
members, and its secretary for time, was
Leibnitz.
Leibnitz and Spinoza strange names to
bring into connection with this science of the
superstitious. Yet Bacon of Verulam did not
disbelieve in alchemy, though to him we are
first indebted for the excellent application of
the old fable of the dying mans will and the
field to be dug over in search Of the treasure
which never existed save in the fertilizin9
process of culture. Robert Boyle is also cited
as having faith in it's pretensions. The last
professed adept in England was one James
Price, who, in 1882, announced himself the
possessor of a tincture which could change
from thirty to sixty times its weight into gold
Semier, the well-known theological profess
sor at Halle in the last century, was a votary of
alchemy. The story of his performances
before the lncrelulOus chemist, Klap-
roth may be given as illustrative Of
the trickery of which experimenters were
oftentimes the dupes, and by means of
which at least as often, though not in this
case, they established their pretensions. In
the year 1856 Dr. Semler and one Baron
Won Hirschen occupied themselves with
preparing a Universal Medicine, called by
them ''Luft Salz,' atmospheric salts
Three treatises on 'Hermetic Medicine" were
composed in relation to it by Semler, and he
went beyond the original pretensions of the
medicine, asserting that gold could be made
by means of it in well-warmed glasses, with
out the intervention of crucibe or Goals. Hs
got into lively discussion with the leading
chemists OF the day, and at last submitted TO
hlaproth, for his own use, mass of m3tal
which he said contained the s6els of gold.
10 kaproths ill-success in making
these ''seeds' germinate Semler could
only reply that he found a residu1m
of gold in his glasses every five or six
days. On close examination it was disa1-
vered that trick had been played upon him.
Some SulOVdiO0tpC n whom he had int, 1