The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-12-15
Making Gold.

JHluS Ou my lHlHu LOT dDOuC Lnr6o
weeks that | think ought to be told.
There's a moral goes with the story,
but don't furnish that, only the story.
A little more than a month ago a gen
tleman came here to the Denison House
at least met him here. He was
Hungarian, a man of medium height,
wore his hair, which, like his beard,
was black as ravens wing, quite long,
while his whiskers, that curled bcauti-
fully, were neatly trimmed His skin
was of olive hue, his nose hooked and
his age about forty-tive years. He was
a delightfully."- smooth and ready talker,
being complete master of English,
though he spoke it with decidedly for
eign accent. He went, soon after his
arrival, to Dun q Co.'S agency, and
stating that he had an enterprise in
which he might desire to interest n
number of capitalists, was furnished
with the names and rating of several of
those amiable and interesting gentle
men. He represented himself as
chemist, and opened out his plan with
as much secrecy as dealer in counter
felt coin. He had found the secret
hunted for through several centuries,
and could transmute metals to gold.
The few citizens he approached were
too shy to entertain his propositions,
and he did rot even unfold them; but
he got two elderly gentlemen interested
(don't look ct me that way; Pm not
one of 'em), and renting an upstairs
room on South Meridian street, fitted it
up with lead-lined tanks, curious
shaped bottles, crucibles, retorts, alem-
bics, etc, SO that it looked like the lair
of a medieval alchemist. He had the
room fixed up like an illicit medicine,
secure from observation, and every
thing was altogether mysterious. He
didn't show the capitalists his hand I'M
til the room was ready. Then he
brought them there and showed his APP
paratus, which of course impressed
them. He told them he had come from
New York with little more than $780,
He could not undertake to do what he
wanted to do there. He could trans
mute metals into gold; had spent his
life and fortune in acquiring the secret,
and if he did not know that he could
do what. he promised he would commit
suicide, as life was not worth having
any longer. He impressed my friends
with his earnestness. At the labora-
tory ne took two 800 gold pieces, $3.50
in silver, land chemicals which he said
cost 500, in all, as he represented, a
total value of S42. so. and with this he
proposed to make 1920 in gold.
Indeed, he told the two amateur al
chemists that they themselves might
put the material in the crucible. He
or ,,I nf4 a. Il IS Al,
room, and they could make the gold
themselves. He explained to them that
the gold and silver needed in the eXper-
iment had been subjected to the potent
influences of compound gases for the
purpose of revivifying their molecular
energies. This did not show any ex-
ternal change in the coin, but the
molecular transition had, he said, new
ertheless taken place.
"They put the gold silver and chem
ical compound into the crucible. and in
a little while poured out a nugget which,
as he said, was actually gold, with a
trace Of silver, and worth nearly S12O.
''My old friends were very much ex-
cited. They made hasty calculation
and thought they saw $4,000 a day
clear proft-if they worked hard at the
melting pot, $4,000. But they sus-
pected the chemical compound; it might
be hocussed, and so furnish the addi-
tional gold in the nugget. The amia-
BILE Hungarian smiled and gave them a
portion of the chemical to have ana
lyzed. They had it done, and there
wasn't a trace of the valuable metal in
it. On finding the strangers word thus
confirmed they were eager to close with
him, but they restrained their ardor
and asked few more questions. They
wanted to know if he could transmute
metals into gold why did he need sill
yer, and, above all, why did he need
gold to assist in the transmutation.
Easily explained He said that he had
discovered that gold was not, as chem
lists held, an element. Nothing of the
kind; it was a compound He had dis
covered all the ingredients that 90 to
make up the compound called gold. eX-
cept one, and that had partially to be
supplied by gold itself and y little sill
yer, both being requisite to supply that
want. . -...
ale had nearly silenccd every doubt,
and the capitalists were about to invest,
when, for some reason, the Hungarian
gotfrightened andskipped the town, and
they were thus undoubtedly saved from
being the dupes of as clever scoundrel
as ever walked in shoe leather / asked
scientific friend of mine how he sup
posed the Hungarian managed the
thing, as my friend undoubtedly rolled
out the nugget. His idea was that it
was done by clever slight-of-hand, or
that the silver'pieces might have been
filled with gold, though that wouldn't
account for all the gold turned out of
the nugget OF course it was swindle,
and l am surprised that two such old,
acute, andlong-headed financiers should
have so narrowly escaped being taken
in. I'm not quite sure he didn't get
money enough of them TO pay his hotel
expenses here, at least. If | were to
give you the names of the gentlemen
who wanted to 90 into the manufacture
of gold, you wouldn't-but, by Jove, L
will give EN- to YOU but you mustn't
publish EN-.
When the reporter heard the names