The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1871-04-13

reply, mentioned the several escharotics |
then in use. Seton then told him that the
Scottish surgeons had recently discovered
preparation which ate away diseased
flesh without any pain, and without injur
ing nerves, muscles or veins. The Ger
man, acknowledging the very great value
of such preparation, expressed q wish to
know its ingredients. The other affirm
ed it to be compound of sulphur and
lead; and added, further, that if the sur
geon would get him q small quantity of
those minerals he would at once show him
how to make it. George Immediately or
dered his assistant to 60 and purchase
some sulphur and lead; and on Seton
| saying that a furnace and crucible would
also be requisite, the unsuspecting surg
con proposed that they should at once go
to the laboratory of goldsmith of his ac
quaintance, and his assistant was told to
meet them there with the articles he was
sent to procure. Accordingly, Seton and
| the surgeon went directly to the workshop
of one Hans Kempen. Hans was not at
home, but his son, four journeyman, and
an apprentice, were at work in the place.
While waiting for the arrival Of the as
sstant, Seton entered into conversation
with the workmen as to the best method
of converting iron into steel, and offered
to show them a better way than they were
acquainted with. He then apparently in
! pursuance, of his conversation, requested
the goldsmith's son to put Il piece of
common iron nail into q crucible, and
place it on the fire. AS this was being
done, Georges assistant entered with the
lead and sulphur which he had been sent
to purchase: and these, also, by Setons
directions, were placed in another cruci-
BILE and put on the fire. When the met
ais became fused, Seton added the pow
der in usual manner, desiring them to put
on more charcoal and keep up brisk fire
by blowing. In few minutes after,
when he desired that the crucible should
be taken from the fire, Georges assistant
cried out, ''The lead is changed into
gold !" while the goldsmith son exclaim-
ed, almost at the same time, ''Therc is
gold in my crucible Also In short, the
contents of each crucible were turned in
to gold The apprentice ran and called
the goldsmith's wife, who, used to assays,
said it was pure gold, and offered to buy
it at the usual price but Seton gave one
piece to GEORGE, and the other to the
workmen The goldsmiths wife then ran
and told the wonderful occurrence to the
neighbors the journeymcn hurrahed at
the honor done to their shop by so distin-
guished an alchemst, and large crowd
collected round the door, through which
Seton and the surgeon with great difficulty
forced their way. When they had got
clear of the crowd the surgeon said to the
adept: ''It was then in reality an alchemi-
cal experiment which you brought me to
witness?"
"Undoubtedly it was replied Seton
"you We're too incredulous to believe that
| could convert an inferior metal into gold
though you could swallow the gross alb
surdity that | could make an cscharotiC
which would burn flesh without pain OF
injury to blood-vessel or nerve. | heard
that you would not witness an alchemical
experiment, so [ adopted this mode OF
convincing you of the truth, as | have al
ready convinced many other learned and
scientific men in the various cities have
visited"
''But my dear friend" said George
''you have acted very imprulently. II
ever the German princes hear Of your op-
!, crations, they will find you out, and i'm
, prison you for life rs y means Of obtain
, ing your secret"
; Il am not ignorant of THEN rapaciou,
cruelty" replied Seton; ''but AS Cologne
is a free city, have nothing to fear from
, princes here; besides, if Il prince We're tc
, seize my person, would suffer a thou
> sand deaths before would reveal my Sc
crct. If he asked for proof ofmy art
would willingly give it; il he wanted gold
, l would make him any quantity. What
) need, then, have | to fear any sovereign p
, "a uy5,,1l al, bo+ No al
f ty practiced by the petty princes of Ger
, many at that time to the alchemists was
well known to be excessive. Perpetua
imprisonment was the least punishment
they might expect from them. Some o.
with gold leaf. to hang them upon, if they
, did not succeed in making gold; while
= Imprisonment for life, or till the avowal
, of their secret, was the fate Of those who
, were considered to be able to produce al
l will the precious metal.
. The surgeon Immediately became con
l vert to alchemy; and to the remonstran-
t ces of his friends only said ~ cannot
} doubt my own eyes" Seton made an
: other projection in Cologne, in which
though he used but one grain of his pow
der, he made six ounces of gold Borde-
J mann, rather indiscreetly, asked him why
he had used sulphur in place of mercury
in this experiment. 81 have merely useC
; it," replied Seton, to show that any met
, al can be changed into gold; but you for
get, my friend, that | cannot reveal any
thing important relating to my work
l Our limited space will not enable us tc
detail the one half of what is related about
J Setons marvellous deeds. From Cologne
he went to Hamburg, and thence to Nj u
| Mich, where he married a daughter Of Adam
Rockosch. We next find him at Crossen
where the Prince of SaXony heard of his
fame, and wished to see 4 specimen of his
handiwork. Seton than seems to have
J lost his usual prudence, for he visited the
: court ofthe Elector of SaXony.
Prince Christian was at first delighted
with him; but Seton refusing to reveal
his secret, was put to the torture and then
thrown into prison. A person named
Michael Sendivoglus, an able chemist,
was then a favorite of the Prince he GOT
leave to visit Seton in prison, where the
two made a bargain for the prisoners es-
cape. Sendivogius raised Il sum Of mon
ey, bribed the guards, and succeeded in
conveying Seton to the palatinate Of Cra-
covia, out of the territories of the Prince
Here Sendivogius demanded his secret,
but Seton excused himself, saying he
could not commit so great q sin, and coun-
seled his rescuer to ask it from God. In
January, 1904, Seton died from the effects
of the torture inflicted by Prince Chris
tian's cruel rapacity. Sendvioglus at once
married his widow, from whom he obtain
ed a small quantity of Seton's powder of
projection, and an alchemical manuscript,
entitled 1.-The Book Of Twelve Chapters "
This last he published at Cracow, with the
motto, Amge1us doce anihi jus, which be
ing the anagram of his own name, caused
the book to be attributed to him. The
old alchemists, like the Spanish bull-iight
ers and the English prize-lighters, always
adopted fancy name, by which they
were known to their admirers: That Of
Seton was The Cosmopolite; this also
Sendivogus bascly adopted. AS long as
Seton's powder of projection lasted Send
ivogius lived in great style, as we are told
| bv MOrhOf. After it was exhausted he