The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-03-20

kings conmand,'' replied James stern
ly. Speak out; speak out fully, and
speak quickly"
We'll, there came some time since
to Stirling an Italian chemist, who
took up his abode and set UP his shop
in the abandoned refectory Of the old
monastery. He is the author of many
wonderful inventions, but none inter-
estS the court so much as the COM
pounding of pure gold in a scrucible
from the ordinary earth of the fields"
i can well believe that" cried the
king. Il have some stout fighters in
my court who fear neither man nor
devil in battle, but who would stand
with mouth agape before a juggler's
tent. But surely. Davie, you who have
been to the colleges and have read
much from learned books, are not such
a fool as to be ideluded by that ancient
metals into .gold?"
Sir David laughed uneasily.
81 did not say I believed it, your ma
jesty, still a man must place some
credence on what his eye sees done, as
well as in what he reads from books;
and after all the proof Of the cudgel lis
the rap on the head. I have -beheld the
contest, beginning with an empty pot
and ending with a bar of gold
Doubtless. I have seen a juggler
swallow hot iron, but I have never be-
lieved it went down his throttle, al
though it appeared to have done so.
Did you get any share of the trans
muted gold? That's the practical test,
my Davie."
''That is exactly the test your barons
applied. 1 doubt If their nobilities
would take much interest in scientific
experiment were there no profit at the
end of it. Each man entering the labora-
tory pays what he pleases to the money
taker at the table, but it must not be
less than one gold bonnet-piece. When
all have entered the doors are closed
and locked. The amount Of money
collected is weighed against small bars
of gold which the alchemist places in
the opposite scale until the two are
equally balanced. This bar of gold he
then throws into the scrucible."
ooh, he puts gold into the crucibIe,
does he? Where, then, is the profit? !
thought these necFomancers made gold
from iron"
'sSignor Farini's method is different,
your majesty. He asserts that like
attracts like and that gold in the cru
chile will take to itself the minute
unseen particles which he believes ex-
lists in all soils, the intense heat burn
ing away the dross and leaving the re-
fined gold"
Il see; and how ends this expert
ment?"
'The residue is cooled and weighed.
Sometimes it is double the amount of
gold put in, sometimes treble; and /
have known him upon occasion to take
from the crucfble quadruple the gold
of the bar, but never have / known
a melting fall below double the amount
collected by the man at the table. AT
the final act each noble has returned
to him double or treble the gold he
Eelinqnished on entering"
Where, then, arises the profit to
your Italian? never knew these for
eigners to work for nothing
He says he does it for love of Scot
land and hatred of England; an an
cient enemy. Were but the Scottish
nation rich, he thinks they could the
better withstand incursions from the
south"
well, Davie, that seems to me a
most unsubstantial reason. Scotland,s
protection has been her poverty in all
except hard knocks. Were she as
wealthy as France it would be the
greater temptation for Englishers to
overrun the country. My grandfather,
James the Third, had black chest full
of gold and Jewels, yet he was murder
ed, flying from defeat in battle. When
does this golden wizard fire his cali
dron, Davie?'
Tonight, yo1r majesty, That is the
reason the mobiles of your court were
making sly haste to his domicile.'
''Ah, and Sir David LINDSAY was