The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-09-13
to his own pen by the ignorance of the

to his own pen by the ignorance of the
learned.
DIR. Helvetius, of The Hague, in his Col
den Calf relates how he became pos
sessed of a pinch" of this powder. which
converted six drachms of lead into gold /;
but he could not obtain the secret of its
manufacture from the adept who gave 1t
to him. The Jesuit Father Kirchir relates
somewhat similar story, in which the
mysterious adept figures as the devil him
self. with whom alchemists in general were
said to be on speaking terms.
1t was supposed that the miraculous
powder, IL used in another way, would
prolong life to an indefinite period; and
both these superstitions were derived inn
medately by the Europeans from the
Arabiams, although the alchemists pro-
fessed that Egypt was the fountain of
the occult philosophy, which they termed
Hermitic, after Hermus or Thoth. How
ever this may be, the very same deu-
sions had been productive of much more
remarkable disorders in China several
centuries before the Christian era. There,
the infatuation of the princes in their
search after the water of Immortality"
and the philosophers stone" was fire.
quently one of the leading causes of po-
litical revolutions; and it was not only
the profigate and depraved who were adj
dicted to this fatal pursuit, but some of
the wisest of the emperors. In the year
1873 b. c., one Of the mystic priests of
Taon presented the emperor with the in
gradients for composing the miraculous
draught telling him first to sacrifice to
the spirits of the EARTH, and then to
throw some vermilion into a goblet, which
would become gold and this gold gave
immortal life. The emperor brewed as
he was directed. The goblet, however,
was snatched from his lips by one of his
indignant mobiles, who drank off the
draught IF / am immortal" said he
your majesty cannot kill me; Il l am not
immortal you WILL of course, reward me
for opening your eyes to so contempti-
BILE delusion."
Twenty years afterwards, when the en-
peror was still more in need Of the water
Of Immortality" and the art of making
gold, he fell as blindly into the snare. An
adventurer offered to proceed to the ISL
ands of the Immortals, and kidnap one
of the inhabitants for his service. He de-
parted, furnished by the emperor with
ample means, but was traced by spies
to a certain mountain, where he was well
coined by a banditti of brother philoso-
piers, and the whole made the welkin
ring with their joyous carousals for three
or four months till IT was time to return
from the Islands of the Immortals. One
of the gang was made TO personate the
kidnapped native, and fully instructed in
the art Of making gold; and in due time
the learned cortege arrived in great state
at the palace--preceded some few days by
the spies. They were received by the en-
peror and his court as became their dig
nifty, and when they had told their tale.
and exhibited their man. the headsman, at
a given signal appeared upon the scene,
"and made them all immortals in a few
minutes"
"A curious story OF an eighteenth-century
alchemist Is told by Pope's Cornna, Mrs.
Elizabeth Thomas, a poetess and httera-
teur OF the period. In Surrey she met with
a physician, who confded to her that he
had discovered the secret OF "the great
projection" that is. Of producing gold
from lead. The lady furnished him
with quantity OF lead, which
he presently returned In the agreeable
form of an ingot OF pure gold. Yet. wlthal.
the alchemist was as impecunlous as most
OF his fraternity and Corinna lent him
fifty pounds, which he guaranteed would
produce at least a million. Poetess and
alchemist set up housekeeping together
in London, the former supplying the
means Everything went WE'LL the mo-
ment OF projection arrived, and riches
seemed already within grasp-when the
house caught fire. and the inmates es-
capped with their lives, but little less. But
not discouraged by this accident, the ex-
periments were once more contlnped 1T