Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-09-17
MAKING GOLD Br ARrIFIcE.
How the sic;sefni-ts iced 60 DO rt aud the
Fate u Brought Them TO-


Fate s Broaght Them TO-
TT HAS OFTEN BEEN STATED, AND
Il with truth. that modern chemistry b In
debted for much Of it, knowledge 20 the al
chemists of old. whose experiments for the pnr-
pose Of making gold by srsifcc were certainly
extraordinary 90 the utmost point Of nbsurditv.
Some Of them actually attempted 10 imprison the
suns rays. which they tried 20 cHicine ana
powder. the rays being supposed 10 consist OF
pure golden sparks. Others songht to obtain
the philosophers stone, which vas 20 trans
mute all other metals into gold from honey,
sugar. wine. blood and even from rain water
Dead bodies were dug up from their graves and
saltpeter was extracted from them 60 serve as
an ingredient Still others believed that gold
grew from seed. other metals merely furnish
ing a fruitful soil in which the yellow germs
developed like plants.
In work now rare. called the "History OF
Ancient Pharmacy. 10 J. mentioned that Raw
mond Nully said 10 have transformed Jo.00o
POUNDS OF mercury into gold fOg the Ength
King Edward III. and that from tins sapply OF
the yellow metal the frst rose mobiles we're
coined. The credibilitv Of the story II some
what diminished. hogever.by the circumstance
that the same monarch was soon after Obliged
20 coin money from his own and the Qaeca
crown and from the golden vessels ~ charcles
and cloisters. IL j. grsSely recorded that the
Emperor Frederic Ill. on January IS. l6is. st
Prague. changed three pounds of mercury into
two and one-hah pounds 81 gold by means Ok
one grain OF - lead powder given 20 him by n
man named Riohthanscn. He created tins man
Baron Of Chaos and from the gold a medal vas
made which bore an inscription referring 10 it-
artificial origin. This medal VIA long pre-
served in the Vienna treasury.
In l705 "a Saxon lieutenant named Paykuh
taken apner hx Charles MI AT AarfnW
and condemned 20 death He promised TO maze
sl.ooO.o00 worth of gold each year n hrs hie
were spared. In the presence OF witnesses Paw
kull changed six ounces OF lead into gold by
means of a tincture which contained antimony,
sulphur and saltpeter among other ingredients-
out Of this gold medals were stamped but
Paykull must have failed in subsequent at
tempts, because he was afterward executed.
III this goose had been able 20 lay real golden
eggs II Is TO be presumed that he would NOS
have met with So melancholy q fate.
THE BUSINESS OF MANUFACTURING GOLD
in those days seems to have been an extremely
dangerous one. commonly bringing persons
who pursued it to a violent death. George
Honauer promised to transform 8. COO weight u
iron into gold for the Prince Of Murtemburg.
The prince detected a bov. who had been con-
cealed in the laboratory. ia the act OF putting
gold into the crueible. He thereupon ordered
an iron gallows 20 be constructed from which
other godmakers wsre likewise hanged from
this same gallows Mt Stuttgart in i6o6 and i5Ss,
respectively.
In 1871 man named Krohnemann entered
the service Of the Marquis of Bfandenburg,
with the rank OF colonel. He soon won reputa-
tion rs gold maker and was given charge OF
the mint and mines. Subsequently he was sus-
pected OF fraud. and on his trial Il was proved
that he had stolen gold and silver from the
treasury of the margrave for use in the decep-
tion. He was condemned u be hanged.
quack namedYDaniel su 'plied Italian apoth-
ecaries with wonderful gold powder, called
"usufur. which was supposed 30 have aston
ishing medicinal ralue Pretending that the
art OF compromising this usufur. with other
drugs, was mystery known onN 20 him
self, he directed his patients not 10
permit the apothecaries to mix the in
gradients Of his prescriptions but 90 buy them.
including the usufur, and bring them 10 him
for putting together He mixed the drugs,
emitting the usufur. In which manner he sue
ceeded In having restored 10 him the gold pow
der, previously sold by him at a high price TO
the apothecaries. The powder soon became
famous. and the quack finally offered TO teach
Duke Cosmos III OF Florence the art Of making
gold The duke paid Daniel 20.oo0 ducats for
the secret and the swindler fed TO France with
the money.
Count Cajetan, in 1905. in the presence Of
Frederick of Prussia. changed one pound 81
mercury into gold by means Of n red tincture.
subsequently he promised TO make &c. 1000. 900
worth of gold in six weeks. but failing 20 keep
his word he was hanged. draped in gold leaf
which became the customary method Of dealing
with alchemists. The tribe of alchernirts is not
vet entirely extinct In 1850 an American named
Wise duped member OF the Rolan family and
a collateral descendant Of the Necklace cardi-
nal, whom Cagiostro deceived by pretending
TO make gold. Wise got considerable sum of
money from Rohan and decamped. Only few
days ago the writer picked up little pamphlet
on book stall in New York which contained
several pages of advertisements of a substance
for transmitting other metals into gold, the
price being only IS.