, 1874-12-28

In tho discovery Of tho metals men first
assertoa their mastery over Nature yet tho dis-
centNry only scrcE were positively known. They
were cacll held sacred among tho nncienta, to
souo ruling deity. du!d-ii. dcBtrnctlble maloa-
bo, tho richest iii cooring. tho most precious Of
auu. aud Lad already assumed tho supremacy
which 1t has mover lost. II was coined into tho
heavy darics of Persia and tue nitrous Of I'm
pcrial llomo. It waB used to gid temples ana
htataos' wns wrought into rlcl1 jewellery, a;hl
loworod etutrs of Babylon.
dold mines and ,gold-boarlng streams wore
fotnd III Arabia, Syria, Greece, Italy, and Spnln,
and tho pursuit Of tho precious metal waH Carried
on with various SUCCESS by countless tlrongs Of
minors. Tho rlcleHt mines, at least in later ageB
wcro those Of srnin; and tho enormous pro-
auc,ivencss Of tho Spaniah soil was slowly ex-
hausted by tho successive labors Of the. Cariha-
giniauB anl tho Romans. So suconssfut waH their
found IN q territory Wlltro tho precious motnl
once my scattered in boundlesa profuBion on the
surface Of tho earth.
Silver rankod next to gold, and was named
from the soft light OF tl,o moou. Tho richest
silver mines wero thoso of Spain. 1t was wrought
into cups ynsos, lamps; adorned tic helmets
aud Hhloltls Ut warriors; and formed tho costly
mirrors with which tho nolnan ladlos ehucked
tue a1sterity OF Iactautlus Or jerome. Tllo
beautiful silver coins Of tho Groclt and lloman
GlLlGb Ill A4fA O%ASt
-irun, copper, morcslry, lead, sud ti,s-woro eul-
ployod by tile ancicits for various purposes; ; they
made steel by u rude process, and brass without
discovering zinc.
For many ages no addition wns nlado to tho
Baorcd seven Throo thousand years passed. nway
before it was suspected that tue number could
be incrcased,-n memorable example uf tho slow
nexs OF human apprehension. At length, In
1i10, autMionY was added to the metallic family !;
md not fur OF from tho period Of tho discovery
nfo 1I,o n ,}n
npon tfesh fields Of science, scarcely less bound
less or inviting.
a second metal, bismntl,, camo in almost with
tho Reformation. Xlnc, perhaps tho most i'm
portant of tho new family, may hayo preceded
tllo others; IT WAS certainly described long be-
foro. 1t IL, Indeed. quito curious to notice how
tho bright metal Lad been constantly forcing
issolf upon tho attention OF careful observers,
| ind had yet boon wholly overlooked, had boon
used by the auconta, in tho form Of an earth,
to colur copper into brass, aud giyo it shining
surfaco like gold, was seen dropping from tho
| furnaces Of tho Middle Agos, Or moitod in rich
! AakaB from their walls.
Two nlagcians, or philosophers. at Inst detect,
| ed tho error OF ngca; aud Abertus Magnns and
paracosua, probably both discovered that zinc
| ,Yns aB lliestruelible mud al FREQ from foreign
Substances oil gold. 1t eeemed q pnro o1omont.
| Paracelsua who WIS fond OF poiletratlnE to tho
source Of things, admits tint he could not toll
how tho bright metal grow; nnr in tho height of
their magic renown waA it evor foresoon tlat tho
rA1o Bubstauce tile sorcerers had discovered
! would ono dny aleil knowledge, in tongues Of
| fro. from London to Japan.
Two centuries followed, during, which no me-
| tallio substance waa discovered. parncelsua
! found no SUCCESSOR; AlbcrtuB almost the ilist
1nan Of science in Europe, was remembered only
ns q soscoror. It wus not until 1733. tint tho
yast Held Of motallio discovery bognn to opou
upon man.. Two valuable and well-known
lnetnlH,--platinum and nckel,-among several
others, first uppearoa about tho mlldlo Of tho
eishteentl,, century. Tho number Of tho metals
dissolve tho hardest earlhs mud ut length, in
the opening Of tho nineteenth century, cluster
of brilliant discoveries nsousod the curiosity Of
| science.
Each eminent philosopher seemed to produce
| now metala. DcrzoliuH discovered throo; Dayy,
tho raracclsus Of Lis ago, is tho scientific pareit
Of tivo--potassium. sodium, harlan'. sirontltnl'
| ealclun. Tho numbers advanced, until already
moro lhau tlfty motals, Of various Importance,
have boen given to TUG srts. Tho now experl'
md no limit can now bs tixod for tho metallic
family, which fol. no many agoH embraced only
soven members. tho onlbloula Of tho ruling
Huds,-Onco q Week.