St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1884-01-05
Making Gold.


thing on my mind for about three
weeks that l think ought to be told
There's 8 moral goes with the story,
but don't furnish that. only the story.
A little more than q month ago gen
tleman came here to the Denison House
at least l met him here. He was a
hungarian. man of medium height,
wore his hair, which, Ike his beard,
was black as ravens wing. quite long,
while his whiskers, that curied beauti-
fully, were neatly trimmed. His skin
was of olive hue, his nose hooked and
MS are about forty-five years. He was
del ghtfully smooth and ready talker.
being complete master of English.
though he spoke it with q decidedly for
eirn accent. He went, soon after his
arrival, to Dan & Co.'S agency, and
stating that he had an enterprise in
which he might desire to interest a
number of capitalists, was furnished
those amiable and interesting gentle
men. He represented himself as a
chemist, and opened out his plan with
as much secrecy as dealer in counter
felt coin. He had found the secre.
hunted for through several ccnturieE,
and could transmute metals to gold.
The few citizens he approached We're
too shy to entertain his propositions.
and he did not even unfold them; bit
he got two elderly gentlemen interested
(don't look at me that way: I'm not
one Of 'em), and renting an upstairs
room on South Meridian street, fitted it
up with lead-lined tanks, curious
shaped bottles, crucib!es, 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 un-
til the room was ready. Then he
brought them there and showed his ap-
paratus, which of course impressed
them. He told them he had come from
New York with little more than 800.
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 lie 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 $40 gold pieces, $3.50
in silver. and chemicals which he said
ccst $50. in all, as he represented,
total value of $3.50. and with this he
proposed to make Sl2O in gold
Indeed. he told the two amateur al
chemists that they themselves might
ho .o1 kkn To
would stand at the other side of the
room, and they could make the gold
themselves. He explained to them tlat
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, nev-
ertheless taken place.
"They put the gold silver and chem
ical compound into the cruciole. and in
a little while poured out nugget which.
as he said, was actually gold. with
trace of silver, and worth nearly 1920.
''My old friends were very much ex-
cited. They made hasty calculation
and thought they saw $4,000 day
clear profit-if they worked hard at the
melting pot, $4,000. But they sms-
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
portion of the chemical to have ana
lyzed. They had it done. and there
wasn't 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
Easily explained. He said that he had
discovered that gold was not. as chem
lists held, an element. Nothing of the
kind; it was compound. He had dis
covered all the ingredients that go to
make up the compound called gold. ex-
cept one, and that had partially to be
supplied by gold itself and little sill
yer, both being requisite to supply that
want.
"He had nearly silenced every doubt.
and the capitalists were about to invest,
when. for some reason, the Hungarian
gotfrightened and skipped the town, and
they were thus undoubtedly saved from
being the dupes of as clever ascoundrel
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 mil ght 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 I am surprised that two such old.
acute, and long-headed financiers should
have SO narrowly escaped being taken
in. I'm not quite sure he didn't get
money enough of them to paw his hotel
expenses here, at least. If I were to
give you the names of the gentlemen
who wanted to go into the manufacture
of gold. you wouldn't-but, by Jove, /
will give 'em to you, but you mustn't
publish EN-
When the reporter heard the names
he tumbled in tit, and has just recov-
cred sufficiently to be able to write the
oregoing.-Indianapoiis Journal.