the Vapours arising again to dissolve as before then reiterate this Process till all your Ingredients are distill'd off Then unlute your Receiver and pour the Liquor into an Alembick and draw off the Phlegm in Balneo Mariae and rectifie it in an Ash-Fire Then your Water will be made and fit to dissolve any Metal but Silver CHAP. LVI Another way of making Aq. Reg. more easie and with less precaution THIS second way of making Aq. Reg. will be more easie than the former and the Water of as much force Take 1 pound of good Salt-Petre powder it and mix it with 3 Pound of Potters Clay or Flints calcined to Powder put the whole into a Glass Retort well luted and sit to it a great Receiver lute the Joints well then put it in a reverberatory Furnace and distil it according to Art in a gradual Fire When all the red Spirits are passed over as we have explained in speaking of Aq. fortis in the 52 Chapter Then draw off the Phlegm in Balneo Mariae which the Chymists and we hereafter will note by the two Letters B. M. then rectifie it in an Ash Furnace and keep it for use Then take a Pound of Sal Armoniac well powder'd and mix it with four Pound of Wood-Ashes out of which you have before extracted all the Salt with warm Water then put the whole into a Retort sit a Receiver to it and distil it in a Sand-Furnace and the Spirit of the Sal Armoniac will pass over into the Receiver Then unlute your Receiver and take off that Phlegm of the Spirit in B. M. and rectifie it in Ashes This done take equal parts of each of these Spirits then mix them together and distil them in an Ash-Furnace Then you 'll have a strong Menstruum for dissolving Gold I can't here omit that the Spirit of Sea-water Salt distill'd as Salt-petre has the same effects as the Water of the 2 Champions whereof we have given the Preparation in the preced Chap. and as that we have just now treated of and in the mean while is not so sharp nor corrosive You must to make it succesfully take 3 parts of Spirits of Sea-water Salt and add to it one part of Salt-petre then distil it together in an Ash-Furnace the better to unite them Then you 'll have an Aqua Regalis which will dissolve Gold sooner than the Spirit of Sal-Armoniac and which will make it rise and pass over in the Receiver thus you may this easie way make it more fit for the use you design it for But notwithstanding this you must not imagine that this Solution of Gold is a radical and total one because it will pass over in an Alembic and that so it is reduc'd into a Species of Aurum potabile For there is nothing but the one Sovereign Menstruum of the Philosophers which has that virtue as being homogeneous to it and formed of it That is the only Liquor in which it can putrisie and be totally resolved and regenerated again after the manner of the Phoenix to become a Spiritual and Glorious Body capable of performing all those wonderful Effects ascrib'd to it CHAP. LVII The way to Calcine Tartar WE have already given one Preparation of Tartar in Chap. 15. both for the Calcination of it and to extract the Salt and we have largely shewn in Chap. 5. of what importance it is to dry it throughly For that reason we will not repeat it here but refer the Reader thither To make this Calcination which is easie Take Tartar in great lumps the thickest and most shining you can get blow away all the Powder then put it in new Earthen Pots upon live Coals or in a little Furnace where you must leave it till it smoaks no more and all its humidity be exhaled and it be reduc'd into Lumps of a black purplish colour then it is calcin'd and well prepared Tartar may also be calcin'd by wrapping it in pieces of brown Paper then lay a Bed of live Coals and lay a bundle of it upon them then another Layer or Bed of Coals and on them another parcel of Tartar continue thus to do S. S. S. till all your parcels of Tartar are laid on observing that the upper Layer be always of Coals and leave the whole in that State till the Tartar be well calcined and leaves off smoaking then take it off and blow away the Ashes CHAP. LVIII A way to make a fair Chalcedony in Glass ALtho Chalcedony is not so dear as it has been heretofore since it is found in Europe yet People have not left off counterfeiting it by help of Art to make several Works of it no less beautiful than the true and much cheaper We will shew three different ways to prepare this Chalcedony which will make three different Species of it all of them very fair but whose Beauty may be also augmented by the number of Ingredients we compose them of and which cause those Diversities of Colours which that Stone ought to have Among the rest of the Ingredients we employ in this Subject there are some that give no colour to Glass as Tartar Soot Sal-Armoniac and Mercury Those that are of an unctuous Nature as Lead Soot Tartar the Azure-stone often hinder the Union of the Ingredients by reason of the Separation which may happen by the cooling the Metal which does not happen to those who know how to observe the degree of heat wherein the principal knowledge of this Art consists To make the first sort of Chalcedony Put two Pound of Aqua fortis whereof we have given the Preparation in Chap. 52. into a Glass Body with a long Neck four Ounces of fine Silver in small and thin Plates or granulated put the Body in an Ash Furnace over a soft Fire or in warm Water and the Silver will be presently dissolv'd At the same time take another Body and dissolve in it 6 Ounces of Quick-silver in a Pound and half of the same Aqua fortis After that pour both the Solutions together into a greater Body which put in the same Bath or warm Water or Ash-Furnace then add to it six Ounces of Sal-Armoniac which dissolve over a gentle Fire then put to it one Ounce of Zaffer and half an Ounce of Manganese prepared little by little with as much Ferretto of Spain also little by little for fear the Matter coming to swell too much should break the Vessel Add to all these Ingredients one Ounce of Crocus Martis calcined with Sulphur as much Scales of Copper thrice calcined which ought to boil like Manganese as much blue Lake that the Painters use and the same quantity of Red Lead the whole reduc'd into Powder In putting in these Powders you must gently stir the Glass Body that they may the better incorporate with the Aqua fortis nevertheless take care there be not too much heat then you must well stop the Matras or Glass Body stirring it well every Day for ten Days
then cast the melted Matter into Water and carefully take the remaining Lead from it then put the Matter after it is dried into the same Pot again and seven or eight Hours after it will be again melted Reiterate this process of casting the melted Matter into the Water and separating the Lead that sticks to the Pot as before then this Glass will be cleansed and purified from all the foulness and unctuosity the Calx and Powder would leave in it and be very resplendent You must put it again in the Pot where it will melt and purifie in a little time When it is melted put to it six Ounces of Scales of Copper thrice calcin'd in Powder as in Chap. 34 with twenty four Grains of Crocus Martis made with Vinegar as in Chap. 25 also in Powder and mix them together This Powder must be cast in at six times always mixing well the Glass and taking at each time the interval of saying the Creed Let it rest one Hour and then stir it again and see if the Colour pleases you If it be as you would have it let it stand eight Hours that the whole may well incorporate Then stir it well and let it rest a little that the Faeces may precipitate to the bottom of the Pot then it may be wrought and the colour can scarce be distinguished from true Emerald CHAP. LXXXV Another Way of making Glass of Lead of a fairer Emerald than the former FOR this colour which will be far fairer than the precedent you must change one Ingredient of the other Chapter and instead of Scales of Copper thrice calcined put the same Dose of Caput Mortuum of Vitriolum Veneris prepared as at the end of the seventh Book then proceed exactly as in the former Chapter and you 'll have a very exquisite Green CHAP. LXXXVI To make a Glass of Lead of the Colour of Topaz TOPAZ is a lighter colour than Emerald and casts Rays the colour of Gold wherefore the colour can't be well imitated except this way Take fifteen Pound of Crystal Fritt in Powder and ten Pound of Calx of Lead also in Powder mix them well and searce them very fine then put them in a Pot heated at the Furnace where leave it eight Hours that it may be melted Then cast the Matter into Water and take out of the Pot all the Lead if there be any that remains Put the Matter again into the Pot to be melted and cast it by intervals into the Water Add to that Matter half its weight of Glass tinged of a Golden colour as in Chap. 62. incorporate and purifie well the whole together and you 'll have a Glass of the true colour of Oriental Topaz fit to be wrought CHAP. LXXXVII To make a Sky or Sea-Green in Glass of Lead WE have shewn several Ways in the first Book to tinge Glass of a Sky-colour or Sea-Green which would be needless to repeat here That we now shew which is made in Glass of Lead has no less Beauty Take sixteen Pound of Crystal Fritt ten Pound of Calx of Lead mix them together and put them gently into a Pot heated in the Furnace where they will be in good fusion in twelve Hours time Then cast that Matter into Water as I have shewn before and take the remaining Lead out of the Pot and put yout Matter in again to melt Eight Hours after cast it again into Water taking the remaining Lead out of the Pot then it will be well purified Put it in again to melt in the same Pot and when it is in good fusion cast in at four different times four Ounces of small Copper Leaves prepared as in Chap. 30 with a quarter of an Ounce of Zaffer prepared as in Chap. 17. After having mixed these Powders well together and the Matter at each casting of it in Two Hours after stir the Matter well in the Pot with an Iron Rod and make an Essay to see if the Colour be full enough then let it stand ten Hours to purifie and to give the Colour time to incorporate with the Glass Then it may be wrought to the Uses you design it stirring it well and letting it rest a little to settle before you Work it CHAP. LXXXVIII To make a Granat Colour in Glass of Lead THE Vivacity of this Colour appears no less in Glass of Lead than in Crystal if it be made carefully To make it take twenty Pound of Crystal Frit with sixteen Pound of Calx of Lead and after having added three Ounces of Manganese of Piedmont to it and half an Ounce of Zaffer both prepared as we have shewn put the whole into a Pot heated in the Furnace Twelve Hours after cast that melted Matter into the Water and take out the Lead that remains behind in the Pot. Then put the Matter again in the same Pot where it will be purified ten Hours after You must mix it well with the Iron and let the Faeces precipitate then see if the Colour pleases you then work it to what Uses you please and you 'll have a Glass of Lead of a fine Granat-colour CHAP. LXXXIX To make a Sapphire-Colour in Glass of Lead THE Beauty of Sapphire is no less imitable in Glass of Lead than the Colours of other Precious Stones and its clear Blue Transparent Colour will have as much Splendour To make it mix together fifteen Pound of Crystal Frit in Powder and twelve Pound of Calx of Lead then searce it pounding again what does not pass through the Sieve Add to that two Ounces of prepared Zaffer twenty four Grains of Manganese of Piedmont also well prepared mix the whole well together put it in a Pot heated in the Furnace and let it stand to melt during the space of twelve Hours Then cast the vitrified Matter into Water and carefully take away the Lead that remains in the Pot then put the Matter again into the same Pot and let it stand to be re-purified Twelve Hours Then see if the Colour pleases you and you may Work it You 'll have a Colour like the true Oriental Sapphire CHAP. XC The Way to make a Golden-colour in Glass of Lead THIS Colour is as fine in Glass of Lead as in Crystal It takes that Colour both from the Lead and the Ingredients mixed with it Take sixteen Pound of good Crystal Fritt in Powder to which add the same weight of Calx of Lead also in Powder and well searced then add six Ounces of Copper Scales thrice calcin'd as in Chap. 34 and forty eight Grains of Crocus Martis made with Vinegar as in Chap. 25 the whole mixed well together put it in a Pot heated in the Furnace Twelve Hours after cast the Glass in Water and take the remaining Lead out of the Pot and then put the Matter again into the same Pot to be well purified during Twelve other Hours After that stir it well and see if the Colour pleases you if it chance to be greenish add
this first step towards extracting it as such whereby the Curious may succeed with small trouble CHAP. CLXVIII The Way to make Enamel of a Blood-colour Red. SINCE we have given a small Elogy to every other Colour 't is unjust for us not to continue the like on this which is a true Symbole of Blood by which the Glory of the Martyrs who with so much Generosity and Courage shed theirs for the Faith of Christ may be represented as well as of those many Brave and Heroick Persons who have interposed for the Preservation and Support of Church and State 't is therefore an Illustrious Badge of Eminent Courage Thus Alexander Hannibal Scipio and very many other Great and Noble Princes chose this Colour for their Livery and for their Shields To stain Enamel of this Colour take ten pound of common Frit mentioned in Chap. 12. add thereto six pound of Glass of Saturn prepared as in Chap. 82. the whole made into a very fine powder must be put into a glazed Earthen pot at the Glass-house Furnace to melt boil and refine after this cast thereon powder of thrice calcined Copper as in Chap. 34. at discretion stirring it all about that they may incorporate together with powder of red Tartar until the Mass become red as Blood observing whether the Colour be too pale and if so continue to put in more of these Powders of Copper and Tartar until it be perfectly stained and thus you 'll have a delicate deep Sanguine Enamel fit for all manner of Work you can desire to apply it CHAP. CLXIX Another Blood-colour Enamel THIS Enamel will be very beautiful and may serve instead of the Rose-colour Enamel hereafter prescribed To make it put ten pound of Frit for Crystal Chap. 6. and six pound of Glass of Saturn before mentioned into one of the Glass-house Furnace pots let it melt and purge well after this cast it into Water dry it and return it into the pot when 't is well melted again throw in at several times five or six Ounces of powder of thrice calcin'd Copper stirring the whole with the Iron Crook to mix and incorporate them well together and also a like quantity of powder of red Tartar still stirring it this being well boil'd and refined observe whether the Colour be perfect if not add equal parts of the Powders of Copper and Tartar according to your Judgment as much as you find necessary to bring it to a perfection let it remain to boil and purifie trying it again and again until you find it compleatly coloured CHAP. CLXX Another Red Enamel of a very Splendid Ruby-colour THE Beauty of this Enamel is very surprising and of as lively a Lustre as the Ruby it self which it communicates to all the Work wherein 't is used For this fine Effect we must have recourse to the fusible Manganese in Chap. 164. add twenty Ounces thereof to each pound of Crystal ground mentioned Chap. 163. let the whole be well purified then try the Colour and according as you find it add the greater or lesser quantity of Manganese or Crystal ground respectively until it be brought to its just degree of perfection as a Ruby and which ought to be very admirable CHAP. CLXXI. Another Ballas-Ruby-colour Enamel THE same Manganese must be had to make this fine Colour put ten Pound of Crystal ground â—n Chap. 163. in a glazed pot to melt and purge at the Glass-house Furnace throw the Matter into Water dry and melt over again do thus thrice and when the Mass is afterwards well melted tinge it with the fusible Manganese as before and 't will become Purple-colour'd Add to it at eight times impalpable Powder of Alom to bring it to a Red. Be very careful that the Alom do not blacken it but rather make it Yellowish and the Manganese dissipating 't will become Red and so make the Colour most perfect and just of a fine Ballas-Ruby CHAP. CLXXII Another Enamel of a Rose-colour for Gold NOTHING is fairer and of greater Gaiety than this for all Work where it may be used and therefore we 'll give you several ways for its Preparation Take ten Pound of Crystal ground in Chap. 163 melt it at the Glass-house Furnace in a glazed Pot add to it at four times five Ounces of red calcined Copper as in Chap. 33. stirring the Metal every time then put into it Crocus Martis Chap. 26. and Manganese as before prepared then let it alone to cleanse for six Hours and if the Colour is not true put in by little and little more Crocus Martis until it come to your liking and be of a fine Rose-colour CHAP. CLXXIII Another very fine Rose-colour AMONG our Rose-colour Enamels this seems the finest to make which take four Pound of Crystal ground of Chap. 163. let it melt in a glazed Pot at the Glass-house Furnace cast it afterwards into Water and melting it over again add by little and little an Ounce and half of Calx prepared as in Chap. 148. stirring the Metal every time to incorporate then let it alone for a little while until you perceive it of an Ash-colour when it comes to that forbear putting in any more Calx lest you make it too white then refine the Mass and after add to it Minium two Ounces purge refine and throw it out into Water and putting it into the Pot let it stand to melt and purifie over again about eight Hours then put in an Ounce and half of red thrice calcin'd Copper and as much crude white Tartar with a Dram of Blood-stone and the like quantity of fixt Sulphur in Chap. 165. these pulverized very fine and mixt together stir the Metal and incorporate them very well together afterwards see if the Colour answers your expectation if it be too deep add a little more Manganese to weaken it if it be too pale improve it with some more of the last Composition of Copper Tartar Blood-stone and Sulphur until it be to purpose And thus you have an Enamel of an exceeding fair Rose-colour CHAP. CLXXIV Another Rose-colour Enamel PRACTICE has already experienc'd so many ways to bring this fine Enamel to the most advanced Improvements that 't is impossible to expect any greater and for such as wou'd make it they may proceed boldly thus Set six Pound of Crystal ground as in Chap. 163. in a glazed Pot at the Glass-house Furnace to melt and cleanse then cast into it at four several times intermitting four Ounces of Calx as prepared of Lead and Tin in Chap. 148. stir the Matter very well at each time until it incorporate then let it all purge for a while and cast it Ladle-full by Ladle-full into Water and again put all into the Pot to melt and refine anew after this add to it an Ounce and half of red Copper pulverized and calcined as in Chap. 33. which will tinge the whole of a deep Colour but cast it in at three Intervals and stir it very well
set all in a Kettle over a Fire till the Water be Milk-warm keep your Hand in it until you can bear the heat no longer then take it off cover it with a Cloath that the heat may continue the longer let it repose for twenty four Hours then run off the Lixivium and keep it for the following purpose Get a clean Earthen-Pot and put therein three Quarts of fair Water to half the Lixivium order a Fire and let this boil thereon which when it begins to do put in an Ounce of the Grains pounded impalpably in a Brass-Mortar and searced then pound a little crude Tartar to take off the remaining parts of the Grains on the bottom and sides of your Mortar and so put it in with the Grains when the Water begins to boil again take it off in an instant and set it to cool This done and the Water cold take the Shearings prepared in the former Chapter and let them stain therein about half an Hour Afterwards squeeze it into another Pot by expression and after you have thus drawn off all the Tincture put the Shearings into the last Pot stirring them about very well with a small Stick that they may stain the sooner boil all for about half an Hour over a small Fire else the Tincture will become black then take the Shearings out and put them well tinged into a Vessel of cold Water about half an Hour after pour off the Water gently and so put fresh on again then press and spread them to dry in a clean place where no Dust can come at them This done make the following Lixivium Put on a Hempen-cloath doubled Vine-stalk-Ashes or Ashe of Willow or some other lighter Wood pour thereon by degrees cold Water letting it strain through into a Vessel set underneath pour it again on the Ashes and when it is all run through set it to settle for twenty four Hours that the Ashes which it carried off may fall to the bottom this done pour the Lixivium by degrees into another Vessel rejecting the Sediment put your Shearings into this having warmed it When it begins to be cold let it boil over a gentle Fire and it will become red take a little of the Shearings press them well and if it remains without colour take off the Kettle immediately for the Lixivium has extracted it entirely spread a Linen-cloath o'er a Free-stone Bowl set the Shearings therein and pour on the Lixivium by little and little to strain and yield the Tincture then squeeze the Cloath and the Shearings therein to press out all the Colour that remained in them throw away the Cloath wash the Shearings clean and keep them for the like use another time Then put twelve Ounces of Roch-Allom well powdered into a Glass Body full of cold Water letting it dissolve quite when this is perfectly done spread a Linen-cloath over two Staves and set underneath a large Free-stone Vessel put all the Allom-Water into the Bottle of Tincture and strain it afterwards through this Cloath the Lixivium will go through it clear and leave the Colour behind but if it shou'd not be coloured 't is only straining it through again and you 'll have done Now to get the Tincture you must mix all that remains on the Cloath and gather it together spreading it afterwards over new-made Tiles which have not yet been allowed time to moisten on the pieces of Linen then mold them into Troches to dry suddenly without moulding which wou'd spoil them therefore you must take great care that the Tiles be not at all moist and if so to change them that it may dry the sooner and thus you 'll have a Lake of admirable colour for Painting you must lessen or improve the Colour as you find by a greater or lesser quantity of Roch-Allom CHAP. CCXXIV. A readier way to Extract the Tincture of Kerm-Berries THO the Menstruum given in the last Chapter made with Shearings of Cloath be a very good one for this purpose yet the following is a more easie and as effectual Take strong-Strong-waters of the first Run or Distilling and put it into a long-neckt Glass Body dissolve therein a Pound of Roch-Allom adding an Ounce of Kerm-Berries finely powder'd and searced let it digest well shaking the Matrass from time to time and the Strong-waters will draw to them all the Tincture of the Kermes and be very sinely coloured then let all settle four Days and afterwards pour it gently into a glazed Earthen-Vessel Dissolve four Ounces of Roch-Allom in running Water and pour this into the Strong-Waters or Tincture of Kermes to cause a separation filter it through a Linen-cloath and the Strong-Waters will fall through White leaving the Tincture behind if they be any thing coloured strain them again and again until they be clear Take up the Lake or Colour with a clean Wooden-Spoon and make it into Troches drying them as directed in the former Chapter Thus you may have a quantity of this Colour or Lake as fine and good as the former CHAP. CCXXV. To make Lake or Tincture of Brazile THE Brazile which Dyers make use of is meant here take of the finest which comes from Fernambouck that being the best The way of extracting this Tincture is the same as the former from Kermes and may be effected two ways either with the first prescribed Menstruum or the Strong-Waters observe only not to put as much Allom to each Ounce of Brazile as to the Berries for that Tincture is deeper than this from Brazile and consequently requires more Stuff use therefore as much here as you find reasonable for Experience will give you the best instruction Take notice too that when you do it by the first Menstruum there is a greater quantity required of Brazile than was prescribed of Kermes-Berries to each Pound of Shearings in every thing else follow the former Directions and you 'll have a fine Colour or Lake less chargeable and altogether as good as the Tincture of Kermes for Painting CHAP. CCXXVI To Extract Tincture of Madder for Lake MAdder is the Root of a Plant common enough but generally comes from Holland and Zealand and used by Dyers if good 't is red 't is finer than Brazile and before you use it must be finely powdered to give the better colour You may use either of the former Menstruums of Shearings or Strong-Waters ordering your Quantities as directed for the Brazile if you follow the Preparation given in Chap. 223. you 'll have a fine colour from this Root which make into Troches drying them as before this will be a perfect Lake and very fine for use CHAP. CCXXVII How to make Ultra-marine of Lapis-Lazuli THIS Rich and Noble Blue drawn from an Azure-Stone commonly called Lapis-Lazuli 't is 〈◊〉 Opaque-Stone of a fine Sky-colour or Turkish-â—lue or like the Blue-Flowers which grow in Cornâ—â—lds 't is embellished with small Streaks and Sparâ—es of Gold-colour the best is that which is fixt â—â—at is can endure Fire without
shut the Registers the vessel containing the Materials being exposed to the naked flame 3. For a Balneum Mariae if you put into the hole a Copper Vessel of the same Diameter in shape of a Copper the bottom whereof must be strong and flat and fill it with hot water wherein you may put the Vessel that contains your matter Which if it be a Matrass or Bolt-head you may let the Neck out at the hole at the middle of the Cover which covers the Balneum or vessel full of water 4. For a Balneum Vaporosum by putting in the same hole a vessel full of water that shall rise in vapours And in that vessel another which shall contain the materials two Inches above the water shutting this vessel with a fit cover least the vapours Exhale 5. For a Balneum Aereum or dry bath by putting in the same hole a vessel filled with hot Air shut close and therein also another vessel with the Materials 6. For a Sand or Ash Furnace and with filings of Iron if the vessel put in the hole and which is exposed to the naked Fire be filled with Sand Ashes or Filings of Steel and that you pu◠in the one or the other the vessel that contains the matter you are to work on 7. For a Lamp Furnace if in place of the Bars below you put a Porringer full of Ashes to contain the Vessel wherein your matter is provided you put also a Glass Bell on that Vessel to cover it that must stand on the Brim or Ledges of the Porringer well sitted to it to preserve the heat that arises and then put under that Porringer the Lamp on a little Trevet In short this Furnace may serve for almost all Chymical Operations whatsoever which would be too long here to mention CHAP. LIII The way of purifying Vitriol to make Aqua-Fortis stronger and more penetrative WE have promised in the preceding Chapter to shew the way of purifying Vitriol which consists in taking away its Yellowness which alone hinders the good effects it is capable of producing Take Roman Vitriol the best you can get dissolve it in common warm Water then let it stand three days then filter it and fling away the yellow Faeces then evaporate in Glass Bodies two thirds of the Water and put the Remainder into Earthen glaz'd Pans and set it in a cool place for the Crystals of it to shoot which in 12 hours time they will do about the Brims of the Pans in little transparent pieces like natural Crystal of an Emerald-Colour and at bottom there will remain a sulphureous Sediment which must be carefully separated and cast away Then you must take all those little green Crystals and dissolve them again in warm Water as before and then filter and evaporate them in the same Glass Bodies And set them again to crystallize as before in a cool place taking care to separate all the yellow Faeces you find Reiterate this Process of disolving and filtering evaporating and crystallizing the third time then you will have a well purified and refined Vitriol We will here add for the sake of the curious that those who make use of Vitriol instead of Roach-Allum to make Aqua-Fortis the Preparation whereof we have shewn in the precedent Chap. ought to take a special care in the Distillation that assoon as the Red Fumes are passed all the Spirits of Nitre are raised and that then the Fire must be extinguished for that which follows after is only Spirit of Vitriol which hinders the Operation of the Spirit of Nitre in the Solution of Metals You may also draw a parting Water in 12 hours time as some Refiners do during which time but little Spirit of Vitriol can arise with their fires CHAP. LIV. The way to make Aqua Regalis for the solution of Gold and other Metals except Silver AQua Regalis is nothing but a common Aqua-Fortis wherein you dissolve ¼ of its weight of Sal-Armoniac But to have a good and strong Aqua-Regalis you must take one pound of Aqua-Fortis prepared as in Chap. 52. put it in a Glass Matrass and add to it only 2 Ounces of Sal Armoniac then put the Matrass into a warm Bath or Pan of warm Water and stir it often that the Sal armoniac may be well dissolved in the Aqua-Fortis which will be tinged of a yellow Colour Then you must add as much Sal-Armoniac to it as the Aqua-Fortis can dissolve then let it settle a little and the Sal-Armoniac will leave at the bottom all its Terrestreity After that decant it gently off into another Vessel so that you don't trouble the settling at bottom or rather filter it through whited-brown Paper This Water will dissolve Gold and other Metals far better than the common Aqua Regalis except Silver which it toucheth not at all for reasons which Chymists are acquainted with CHAP. LV. Another way of making Aqua-Regalis far stronger than the former OUr Design being not only to shew Operations and Processes proper for Glass but also for the sake of Gentlemen chymically inclin'd whose Curiosities are not contented with what 's common or with ordinary Preparations those which we here give of Aqua-Regalis are among the number of those whose Virtues are far above the common Preparations they more intimately penetrating and dissolving Gold and other Metals than others rendring them more volatile and consequently more proper to be drawn over in Distillations The first is that which some Philosophers call the Water of the two Champions which is made with two parts of purified Sulphur two parts of purified Sal-Armoniac and one part of calcin'd Flints all reduced to powder and mixed well together Then take an earthen Retort which must have a little hole on the back or Curvature on the upper side through which you may put in the Ingredients For the more safety sake you may lute the Body of the Retort over well and let it dry then put it in the Furnace we have describ'd chap. LII and fit to it a great Glass Recipient by reason of the violence of the Spirits wherein you may put a little common Water to attract them lute the Joints of them as you do for Aqua-Fortis and let them be well dry'd before you kindle the fire for Reasons we have elsewhere assigned The Lute being dry and all in right Order you must begin by a gentle fire that the Retort may grow warm by degrees and afterwards gradually encrease it till it grow red-hot Then put in at the Hole of the Retort four Ounces at a time of the Ingredients you have prepared and stop it again presently Doing thus you will see in a little time great quantities of cloudy Vapours arise and pass into the Receiver and fill it which will dissolve little by little mixing themselves with the common Water and the Receiver will grow clear Assoon as you perceive this you must put four Ounces more of your Ingredients into the Retort and give time for
Figures are drawn or impressed thereon And this may be so far improv'd and heightned as to admit of Performances rather to be thought the Essay of a Divine than Human Artist Witness that notable Piece of Chariot drawn by two Oxen of which Cardan takes notice in the fifty second Chapter of his tenth Book which was so completely done in Little that the whole might be covered with the Wing of a Fly The Ship rigg'd and Man arm'd which Howel says he saw Those little Statues of Men with several other Curiosities of Figure Vormicus also assures of Not to omit the Church of St. Mark at Venice where the Mosaick-Work is plentifully interlaced with History of all Sorts distinguishable by the Variety of Colours and Gildings and all consisting of several different Subjects In short what Account Agricola has left us of these Matters in his twelfth Book gives us no less cause to admire this Art than he had when he saw such notable Pieces of which he makes mention and which he assures us was deservedly very great The use of Enamel is very ancient however that of working on Metal is more modern and for the great Perfection to which it is arrived we are obliged to this present Age as we shall further shew in the Seventh Book where we will also endeavour to discover further and make greater Improvements therein CHAP. CXLVIII To prepare the Matter for Enamel NOW we proceed to shew the Ingredients by which the principal Matter for Enamel is prepared before the Colours can be applied of which we shall give Directions in the following Chapters Take Lead in Piggs thirty pound Plate-Tin of Cornwall thirty three pounds mix and calcine them as directed for Lead in Chap. LXXXI precisely observing the Directions there laid down This done fearce the Calx and put it all into a glazed Earthen Pot fill'd with Water put it over a fire and let it boil a little then take it off and pour the Water gently into another Vessel which will carry along with it the more subtile Calx Repeat this until no more of the Calx can be subtiliz'd which you may discover by the Pureness of the Water in pouring it out of one Vessel into the other After this calcine the Remains of what is in the first Pot as before and thus continue to calcine and subtilizetill you can get no more of the subtile Calx Lastly put the Waters out of all your Receivers into larger and set it on a slow Fire to evaporate The Fire must be very gentle for this Reason that the Calx do not founder or fall to the bottom but continue more fine and subtile than when it was first calcin'd Your Calx being thus prepared take thereof about fifty pound and as much Fritt of white Tarso beaten and searced as directed Chap. VI. To these add eight Ounces of Salt of Tartar finely searced and prepared as in Chap. XV. Mix all these Powders very well together in a Pot and let it stand in the Glass-house Furnace or Oven about ten hours to digest and purifie Then take them out and reducing them to an impalpable Powder keep it in a close dry place for use Thus must your Matter for Enamel be prepared to receive the Colours but of that more hereafter CHAP. CXLIX To make Enamel of a Milk-white Colour THIS Colour of all others is the purest 't is used for the Ornaments of Virginity the Emblem of Innocence as also the Symbol of Candour and Chastity Nay more we may even from it form a pretty and impressive Idea of the Brightness and Excellency of Faith and 't is what has ever been esteemed and revered by all Nations We have already shew'd how to tinge Glass of this Colour in Chap. LXX of the Third Book and now we will shew how to perform the like on Enamel with no less Beauty and very easily thus Take six pound of our prepared Powder in the former Chapter and forty eight Grains of Magnese of Piedmont prepared as in Chap. XVIII put them will together into one of your Furnace-Pots to melt and purifie over a very swift Fire which will be done in a little time The Matter being thus melted take it out of the Pot and throw it into very fair Water and being afterwards dryed put it again into the Pot to melt do thus with it thrice changing the Water When you have thus purified it if you find it justly white 't is good but if it be greenish add a little more Magnese and 't will become white as Milk and fit Enamel for Gold or other Metal Take it off the Fire and make it up into Cakes and keep them for use CHAP. CL. A Turcoise-blue Enamel THIS Colour of the Turcois or Turkey-stone is very fine for Enamel but withal very difficult to make well and requires a great deal of Experience Now 't is sufficiently known that Practice will at length make the most uneasie Beginners Masters of their Trade therefore we must not be discouraged if we fail in our first Tryals because by continuing to repeat them we shall at length be sure to perform well 'T is always supposed you understand your Undertaking and are sufficiently qualified to distinguish when you are in the right or wrong or you can never hope to succeed For this cause we ought not to stand dozing on every Unsuccess for Nature which never fails will still be ready to inform us provided we have Judgment enough to determine her Precepts Though we have taken occasion from the Turcois to make this Digression here it may nevertheless be a convenient enough Consideration in Cases of a sublimer Nature even in all the Undertakings of Man Since we are so naturally apt to be impatient and disturbed if we can't effect those Matters in as it were a moment of Time which Nature it self takes a whole Age to perform And this is what mostly arrests the Accomplishments of our greatest Designs and imposes on us a seeming Impossibility in the most easie things Thus Obscurity interposes in the brightest Essays of the Sun and we can't enjoy one day though never so serene and fair that is not more or less over-shadowed with Clouds Thus far I have made my Attempt on this Thought which I hope the Learned will freely pardon because I have discoursed nothing but Truth and what they already are much more familiar with and satisfied of But now for our Enamel which to make of this Turcois 〈◊〉 you must put of our prepared Powder Chap. CXLâ—â—â—â— six pound into a white glazed Pot to melt and purifie it then cast it into Water and when dry put it again into the Pot and being melted over again add to it at four times this Composition Scales of Copper thrice calcin'd as in Chap. XXXIV three Ounces of prepared Zaffer eighty six Grains of 〈◊〉 prepared as in Book I. forty eight Grains all these mixt and reduced into a very fine Powder stir the Matter
finely and you 'll have a blackish Powder reiterate this Calcination thrice with the like proportion of Sulphur as before and the third time let it remain until the Copper become Red and Yellow then take it off and pound it in a Brass-Mortar and searce it finely pounding what remains over again untill all be searced and you 'll have a very well coloured Calx of Copper most effectual and proper for extracting this fair Vitriol of Copper whereof we will give the Preparation in the next Chapter CHAP. CLXXVII To make Vitriol of Venus without Corrosive THOSE who make Vitriol of Venus have not all one and the same method most of them dissolve the Copper in distilled Vinegar Spirit of Nitre or some other Corrosive for our part Water alone is the Dissolvent or rather Agent to extract the Tincture as we shall shew Take Glass Cucurbits as many as will serve your turn to contain all your Calx of Copper and put six Pound of fair running Water to a Pound of Calx into each Cucurbite place them on a moderate Sand-Furnace for four Hours to evaporate until one third of the Water go off let the Furnace cool and afterwards decant the remainder of the Water into other Glass Vessels and dry the Sediment in a Crucible on the Furnace let this Water settle for two Days and then you 'll find in the bottom of the Vessel small Grains of Copper of a blackish Colour you must filtrate or strain the Water and preserve all the Grains together to add to the former Sediment having first well dried them and keep the Water Take all these Sediments and to each Pound add six Ounces of Powder of Sulphur as before putting it into your flat-bottom'd Earthen Pot to calcine as in the former Chapter take care to stir it well as long as the Sulphur fumes and it stands over the Fire else it will stick to the Pot and not calcine take it off and powder it immediately in a Brass-Mortar searce the Powder and you 'll find it black mix this again with Sulphur proportionably six Ounces to a Pound and put it to calcine anew stirring it very well as before directed let it stand a while on the Fire to alter the Matter from a Russet to a Yellow then take it off and pound it instantly in a Brass-Mortar before it cool and then searce it all finely over Put a Pound of this Powder with six Pound of Water into each Cucurbit and these Cucurbits on a slow Sand-Furnace where let it stand four Hours to the consumption of one third of your Water which decant into other Vessels let it settle two Days then filtrate these Waters and pour them among the former gathering the Sediments that remain in the bottom and mix them with these in the Cucurbits Dry the remaining Sediments as before and repeat the calcination anew with the same proportionable quantity of Sulphur then extract the Tincture filtrate and mix the filtrated and tinged Waters with the former exactly observing the Order already taught and continue to do thus six times so will the Copper remaining in the bottom of your Vessels become as it were a soft impure Earth deprived of all its blueness which throw away as fit for nothing for all the Vertue of the Copper is contained in the Waters put these all carefully together to extract from them this precious Vitriol of Venus as hereafter directed CHAP. CLXXVIII The Way to extract a fair Vitriol of Venus from our our Coloured Waters OF all the Preparations to be taught for this rare Work this is the most easie and vulgar there being no more required than to evaporate and crystalize the Matter but as we are to leave nothing in the Dark we resolve to explain every circumstance thereof for the benefit of our Readers and such as wou'd know it We have said you must mix together all your coloured Waters now we will tell you what must be done with them you must have a low Glass-Cucurbit that will hold two Paris Pints or more which put into a moderate Ash or Sand-Furnace put therein three Pound of the Tincture to evaporate gently and put the rest into Glass-Bottles set round your Furnace so that they may be heated and ready to fill the Cucurbit as fast as the Exhalation consumes its Tincture which may be done with a Glass Ladle or the Bottles themselves lest the Waters being cold might cause the Cucurbit to burst and so all would be lost Reduce ten Pound of this by evaporation to two and half or three at most which will be a very high Tincture pour it into two or three glazed Earthen Vessels and place them all Night in a moist cold place and you 'll find the Vitriol at bottom and sticking to the sides of the Vessels like little long Icicles which will have the true colour of Oriental Emeralds pour all the remaining Waters into the Cucurbit and dry the Vitriol that it may not stick preserving it in a close Vessel Place your Cucurbit again on the Furnace to evaporate anew at the consumption of half the Waters and crystalize the strong Tincture as before Thus whilst any Water remains evaporate and crystalize until all be consumed to the end that none of this may be lost whose Vertues are infinitely useful not only in the Art of Glass and the Metallick but in Physick too for the curing of many Chronick Distempers which we pass over in silence as foreign to our Subject and continue to prescribe the rest of this rare Work to conceal nothing from the Curious but give them entire satisfaction CHAP. CLXXIX The Method of drawing the Spirit of the Vitriol of Venus which has a wonderful Blue and how to separate the Caput Mortuum for tinging of Glass THE Caput Mortuum of Vitriol of Venus which we prescribe to tinge Glass of a Sea-green and whereof we discoursed in Chap. 45. has ingaged us to give this most excellent and hidden Secret of Nature which the Philosophers have never explained but by ambiguous Riddles and veiled Parables to conceal the Knowledge thereof from the Vulgar We confess 't is not without some regret we condescend to it in this Ungrateful Age wherein very few deserve to be instructed or truly admire and so perfectly love the Mysteries of Sage Philosophy as to imitate the Vertue and Charity of its devoted Professors 't is however in consideration and for the sake of this small number of Votaries that we have explained and delivered many excellent things in this Book which we might but out of regard to such have laid aside as foreign to the Art of Glass but our desire to please them has promoted the opening these intricate Paths and leaving them in a condition to be enlarged by our small Discovery under the serious Speculations and smart issues of their own Wit Now to finish our precious Essay you must take a Pound of this Vitriol into a Glass Retort strongly
you work it the better and easier the colour may be drawn afterwards make it up like a Loaf or Brick and set it in an Earthen-Dish to dry pouring thereon some fresh Water let it steep for fifteen Days the longer the better for extracting the Vltra-marine CHAP. CCXXXV To Extract the Ultra-marine NOW we come to take out the Vltra-marine from its Confinement to make it appear Triumphant and in its full Glory Take therefore the Loaf of Cement and Powder washing it in the same Water extraordinary well with your Hands weigh it to know the quantity of Oyl it requires and put it into an Earthen-Bowl or Dish very smoothly glazed rubbing first the Bottom with your Linseed-Oyl then pour in Water scarce warmed until it arise two Inches above the Matter let it stand in this condition a full quarter of an Hour or less in the Spring-time pour this Water afterwards into the Vessel mentioned Chap. 230. adding more warm Water to your Matter and so 't will soften Continue thus whilst there remains any Tincture thereon by this means all the substance that is good for any thing will be separated from the Cement which cannot be done otherwise Whilst it is imbibed in the warm Water you must move and roul it gently round with two Sticks or Spatula's of Box or any other well polished Wood rounded at the ends smooth like a Wallnut let them be about an Ell long and an Inch thick Whenever you perceive the Matter stick to the bottom of your Dish rub your Hands with Linseed-Oyl and stir it about leisurely so as to colour the Water which you must put along with the former in the mean time holding up the Matter with your Staves lest it should stick to the Vessel Take notice that a little steeping at first will tinge the Water very much and when the Cement is just yielding its colour it will discover certain Bluish Streaks on the Water like the Sun-Rays and then you must strain this Water out among the other through a Scarce that the grosser part of the Cement may remain afterwards pour in by little and little the fresh warm Water stirring the Cement easily that it may not dilate too much and give its colour all at once After you have thus stir'd it about five or six times close and amass it anew by which means you 'll see how much 't is diminished and what quantity of colour it has given If the Lapis be good and right you 'll find it will the first Steepings yield about four or five Ounces of Vltra-marine which keep apart by its self as the best and finest colour tho it appear grosser than the others of this sort by reason of the Gold-coloured Veins which are peculiarly therein For the second whereof you 'll have three or four Ounces you must follow the Processes aforementioned this indeed will be finer than the other but not so good a Colour keep it also by it self Draw off a third and this will be still siner than the former but paler and more bright coloured You must still pursue the same Directions to extract it letting your Water be but half luke-warm and take care to manage the Cement dextrously with the Spatula's and so preserve the Colour apart You may extract a fourth Colour after this rate but the Water must be hotter and you must press the Cement very well with the Spatula's to squeeze out the Colour and if meer Water will not do make use of the mild Lixivium of Chap. 229. this last Colour will be Grayish or Ash-colour'd and of no great value and therefore not at all to be mixt with any of the rest Observe here that you can't take up less than eight Hours full to extract the Colours nor than ten or twelve to allow the Water for setling and if you perceive the Colour does not come out free enough with the warm Water add a third part of our mild Lixivium and if that does not do use all Lixivium but let it be cold and when that fails too of effecting it sufficiently you must make a Lixivium of Vine-stalk Ashes and this being strained let it boil for half a quarter of an Hour until it be sharp enough to bite your Tongue and then let it settle and grow clear this is your last shift for extracting your Colour and with this heated wash your Cement very well and set it aside The whole design of all this trouble is only to serve for obtaining the greater quantity of Vltra-marine and this consists in the goodness of the Lapis Lazuli and the Cement which the Circumspection and care taken in all their Preparations must advance CHAP. CCXXXVI The Method of cleansing the Ultra-marine when 't is separated from the Cement AFTER you have extracted all your Colours out of the Cement and the Water quite setled and separated from them pour on some of the mild Lixivium before prescribed and so wash them with your Hands but don't rub it between them thus you 'll take away all the Grease of the Cement afterwards wash it three or four times in fair Water and let the Waters settle well before you put them into their proper Vessels You may else another way purge the Vltra-marine thus Take the Yolks of Pullets-Eggs that have been fed only with Corn and not with Greens prick these with a Pin and so moisten the Colours kneading the Mass with your Hands and washing it afterwards with your mild Lixivium until the Lixivium falls off clear again This done wash them three or four times over with fair Water letting the Waters settle well before you put them into their Vessels This last way of purifying the Vltra-marine is mighty effectual but here is another help to be used with it which is a very great Secret and performed thus After the Colours are quite washed according to former direction as well as possible you must cast therein by little and little a Bull's-Gall rubbing it by degrees with your Hands so wash them often in clear Water and you 'll have the Colour in full perfection CHAP. CCXXXVII To strain off the Ultra-marine already Washt and Purified IT is necessary to strain off the Vltra-marine and the rest of the Colours that if any Grease or Unctuosity of the Cement remain it may be taken quite away for these Colours require a Perfect and Extraordinary Purification For this Purpose take a fine Searce and pour thereon the last Waters with which you washed the Vltra-marine and so strain them afterwards through another fine Searce and a third time through Red Quintain or Crape but you must observe when you strain them to let them stand till you perceive them limpid and clear and so soak off the Water dextrously with a Spunge and be sure not to strain them promiscuously all together This being done to all the Waters let your Colours settle in their proper Vessels and dry in the Shade when dry put them into little
a well stopt Matrass in B. Mariae letting it remain till it resolve again into Water and this last shall be the mercury-Mercury-Water which you must preserve to employ on your Pearl CHAP. CCXLV Another Way to make these Pearls THIS is an easier way than the former for by Baking them as we shall shew you very much shorten the time which the Preparation would else take up however you must not expect them so Delicate and Natural as the first the Cause whereof is easie enough conceived for these Pearl having enlarged themselves in the Water as we already noted 't is reasonable to believe the hardning them afterwards in the Cold will be of a much more Natural Effect than if done with heat Take very fair Oriental Seed Pearl for this purpose and reduce it to impalpable Powder on a Marble to dissolve afterwards in mercury-Mercury-Water or clarified Juice of Lemons if this be not effected quick enough set it in a Cucurbit over warm Ashes and be very careful to take the Cream which in a little time will appear at top immediately off so withdraw the Dissolution from the Fire and let it settle a little this done pour it gently into another Glass Body and keep it a-part you 'll have the Pearl in a Paste at the bottom with which fill your gilded Plate Moulds made to what bigness or form you think fit pressing the Paste with the Silver Spatula and so shut them up four and twenty Hours after you must take and bore them through with a Porker's Bristle close up the Moulds and leave them in the Oven in a Paste of Barly Dough which being half Baked draw out and open taking away all the Pearl and steep them in the Dissolution just before directed to be kept a-part putting them in and out several times so close them in their Moulds and Bake them again with the like Paste as before only let this last be almost burnt up before you draw it out thus you 'll have the Pearl well baked and hardned This done draw it out open all the Moulds take away the Pearls and string them on one or more Gold or Silver Threads steep them in Mercury-Water given in the former Chapter for about a Fortnight after this dry them by the Sun in a well closed Glass Body so you 'll have very fine and splendid Pearl CHAP. CCXLVI Another Way THO this be a more common way than the preceding we will not omit it because every one may have his choice to take that Method which best suits with his Apprehension or Conveniency You must as in the former take very fair Oriental Seed Pearl ground to an impalpable Powder and dissolve it in Allom-Water then rack off that Water and wash the Paste of Pearl which remains at bottom first with some distilled Waters then iâ— Bean-Water and set it in B. Mariae or Horse-dung to digest for a Fortnight afterwards take out your Vessel and the Matter being come to the Consistence of a Paste mould up the Paste in the gilt SilverMoulds as before directed bore them with a Bristle string them on Gold or Silver Thread and hang them in a very well closed Limbeck of Glass to prevent the Air from coming in to spoil them Thus dried lap them one by one in Leaves of Silver and split open a Barble as if you were to Fry him and so close them all up in his Body make a Paste of Barly-Meal and Bake him in it as you would a Batch of Bread and no more afterwards draw it out and let them dry To give a Transparency and Splendour to these Pearls if you don't care for using our Mercury-Water instead thereof take the Herb Gratiâ— squeezed in Water put into this Water six Ounces of Seed Pearl one Ounce of Salt-peter an Ounce of Roch-Allom an Ounce of Litharge of Silver the whole being dissolved take your dried Pearls heat them first and then cool them in this Dissolution thus do for about six times at least heating and cooling them at this rate therein If your Pearl should happen to fail of coming to a sufficient hardness you may correct and make them exceeding hard by Baking them a second time after this manner Take two Ounces of Calamy or Lapis Calaminaris in impalpable Powder add to this two Ounces of Oyl of Vitriol and two Ounces of the Water of White Eggs put all these into a Retort lute thereto a Receiver and let them distil you 'll have from them a very fair Water with which and some very fine Barly-Meal make a Paste Coffin your Pearls in this and Bake them in an Oven as before they 'll thus become exceeding hard and recover their Natural Transparency There are many other Ways very good to make Pearl with Oyls which add to the Growth and Largeness of the Seed Pearl as much as you will have them but all these Preparations being very tedious and our Book large enough already we are of Opinion 't is best to let them alone for the present besides we have said enough to hand the Intelligent Readers to those Secrets discoursed off and taught them herein reserving the more enlarged and fuller Instructions for the first Edition we make hereof in two Volumes CHAP. CCXLVII. How to blanch fine Pearl THE Beauty of Pearl consists entirely in the Brightness of their White Colour such as are Spotted or of a dark Yellow being the least estimable you may however restore these last to a true Luster and Whiteness by letting them soak and cleanse first in Bran-Water then in Milk-warm Water and last of all steep them twenty four Hours in the Mercury-Water assigned Chap. 244. This done string and hang them in a well closed Glass Body to dry in the Sun as before The Bran-Water is made by boiling two good Handfuls of Wheaten-Bran in a Quart of Water until the Water has drawn all the Strength thereof to it and thus you are to use it afterwards for cleansing the Pearl you must string and lay them all together in a glazed Earthen Pan and pour thereon one third of this Water when they have soaked until the Water be tolerably cooled that you may endure the heat rub them with your Hands gently to cleanse them the better continue so until the water be cold throw out this cold water and pour on another third part of the Bran-water still boiling and so use it as the former throwing it away when cold and then pouring on the remainder of the water proceeding still after the former manner after this just heat some fair water and pour it on them to refresh and take away the Remains of the Bran shift this water pouring on more fresh warm water do thus thrice without handling them then lay them on a Sheet of very clean white Paper to dry in a Shade and last of all steep them in your Mercury-water to bring them to Perfection CHAP. CCXLVIII Another Way to Blanch and Cleanse fine Pearl THERE are
it yet a quarter of an hour over the same Fire then decant off that Lee to the former thus continue to water it with fresh Lee and decant it off to the former as long as it will extract any Tincture from the matter Then take all these tinctured Lees and filter them thro' whited brown paper then Evaporate three quarters over a gentle Fire And put the remainder into an Alembick with the Helm or head on and the Receiver and distil it till it be dry Then you will find at bottom of the Alembick a Crocus Veneris of a very wonderfull Virtue for colouring Glass and other Chymical Operations and some Medicinal Uses CHAP. XXXVIII Another way more easie to make Crocus Veneris AS those who apply themselves to this Art are not all equally curious in their Work and good husbandry being in fashion in this Age we will shew some more easie ways and more ready to make Crocus Veneris whereof this is one Take very thin Plates of Copper put them into an earthen Pot with common Salt S. S. S. and put this pot on the Furnace where let it stand till the matter be very red Then put the Plates with the Salt into cold Water and wash them well to take away all Blackness Reiterate the stratification of these plates with common Salt calcining them at the fire and washing them as before as often as you please After the last time pour warm water on that where the Plates have been extinguished and then let it stand still some time then empty it and you will find at the bottom of the vessel a Crocus Veneris red as blood You must wash it well several times to cleanse it then dry it well with a linen cloth and keep it for use to colour Glass There are some who content themselves to take Aes ustum prepared with Sulphur and common Salt as we have shewn heretofore and to heat it red-hot in the Fire nine times and quench it as often in Linseed Oil then dry it and powder it CHAP. XXXIX Another easy way of making Crocus Veneris WE now give another easie way of making Crocus Veneris Take of Copper simply calcin'd one part of Sulphur vivum eight parts well powdered mix them together in a large Crucible which then set on a Coal-fire in a little Furnace stirring the Matter continually with an Iron Rod till the Sulphur be consumed and reiterate this Process five or six times then cast it thus refin'd into an Earthen Pan of boiling Water stir it often with a Stick while the Calx descends to the bottom then the Water being settled and clear evaporate ¾ to extract the Crystals or rather evaporate the whole and you 'll find at bottom of the Vessel a Crocus Veneris very fine and red CHAP. XL. The first Colour of Sea-Green for a Tincture of Glass THE Colour of Sea-Green is given by the Italians to Beryl which is a Precious Stone found at the Foot of Mount Taurus by the River Euphrates which has the Green-blue of the Sea It is found in the Indies of a Colour somewhat paler which makes it be called by different Names and when the Colour is deeper they commonly pass for other Precious Stones It is therefore the Water expresses its Colour We will treat more largely of it in our fifth Book wherein we shall shew the way of imitating Precious Stones This Colour which is one of the finest Sky-Colours ought to be made in fine and well purifi'd Crystal which the Italians call Bollito for if you make it in common Glass it is not so fair You must likewise put no Manganese in this Colour To make it therefore very fine and beautiful Take Crystal-Fritt put it in a Pot in the Furnace where being well melted and clear you must skim off the Salt which will swim on the top like Oil with an iron Ladle for if you should not take it off the Colour would be foul and oily The Matter being well purified you must add to it to every 20 pounds or thereabouts 6 Ounces of the Powder of Copper calcin'd as we have taught in Chaptâ—â— XXX with a fourth part of Zaffer prepar'd also in Powder and well mixed both together in pâ—â—ting both these Powders into the Pot on the Crâ—stalline Metal you must do it little by little for fear the Crystal rising and swelling should run over whereof care must be taken stirring it well all the while This being done let the Metal stand still and settle for the space of three hours that the Colour may incorporate then stir it again then the Workman may make a proof of the Colour Twenty four hours after the mixing of the Powders it may be wrought for by that time it will be well coloured but the Workman must first well mix the whole for fear the Colour should not be precipitated to the Bottom Which must always be well observed in all Vessels wherein there are Colours and the Doses of the Tinctures rightly proportioned to the Crystalline Metal in the Pots according to the quantities we have set done CHAP. XLI Another Sky-Colour or Sea-Green YOU must use for this Colour which is a little close the same Crystal-Frit as in the precedent made with Rochetta or Polverine of the Levant and having fill'd a Pot of it let it be well purified and take off the Salt that swims on the top then put to it 20 Pound of Metal six Ounces of the Powder of calcin'd Copper little by little stirring it well observing the same Rules we gave for Sea-Green before Then you will have a very admirable Colour which you may make lighter or deeper as you please Two hours after stir it again well and you will see if the Colour pleases you in which case let it stand still 24 hours without any stirring and then it may be wrought as before CHAP. XLII Another Sea-green colour in Artificial Crystal which the Italians call Bollito THese colours are not to be made without a great deal of Precaution which this needs as much as any To succeed well you must have in the Furnace a Pot filled with 40 pound of good Crystallâ—Fritt carefully skimm'd boil'd and purifi'd without any Manganese having arrived thus far you must take 12 Ounces of the Powder of Small leaves of Copper thrice calcin'd as we have shewn chap. XXX And half an ounce of Zaffer in Powder prepared as in chap. XVII Mix these Powders together then put them at four times into the Pot that they may the better mix with the Glass stirring them at each time well as you put them in for fear it should swell too much and run over Two hours after the whole is incorporated well mixed and pretty well settled try if your colour is deep enough then let it rest tho' the Sea-green or sky colour seems at first Greenish you need not be concerned at that For the Salt in the Glass will consume all that Greenness and change it into
of this Chapter But before you put the Cucurbite or Body on you must lay Sand four Inches deep and thick Iron-Bars to bear the weight then fit a head and lute the joints well with a lute made of fine Flour and Lime powdered and mixt with whites of Eggs then put on the Joints roulers of fineLinen then lute it again and then put on Linen roulers again three or four times each time letting it dry before you put on the next rouler And then this will bear the Violence of the Fire and the penetrating force of the Spirits of the Aqua-Fortis After that you must put this Body of the Alembick in a deep Earthen-Pan made of the same Earth as Crucibles filled with Sand so that it be buried in the Sand to within two Inches of the joints then set it in a Wind Furnace fit and capable to maintain an equal Fire We here give you the figure of it this Furnace may serve for several uses as we will hereafter Explain Your Alembic being thus fitted you must put to the head a Glass Receiver very capacious the better to resist the force of the Spirits otherwise all may break Lute it well to the Mouth of the Alembic as you did the joints before and with the same precaution of letting it dry each time in the Air taking care not to kindle the Fire in the Furnace till the lute of all the joints be dry for that is very necessary The whole being thus in right order kindle a small coal Fire for the space of three hours during which time the windy humour that is in the Materials and which would break them will be drawn of into the Receiver So continue a moderate Fire for six hours then encrease it little by little putting on at last billets of dry Oaken-Wood to the coals for six hours more till the Alembic or head begin to be tinged yellow and the Spirits begin to rise Observe to continue this Regimen or degree of Fire till the head and receiver begin to grow red then augment it till the Alembic become of a deep red continue this degree of the Fire as long as that Colour lasts till all the Spirits are drawn of and the Head and Receiver begin by degrees to grow clear and reassume their common Colour in cooling which sometimes will be two days first Notwithstanding you must continue the Fire some time afterward then let the Furnace cool of its self taking care that whilst the Alembic and Receiver are still red and the Fire in force that you admit no cool Air into the place and that nothing cold touch them which would break them When all is cold cover the head and receiver with wet Linen cloaths that the Spirits which are about the Head and Receiver may the better sink to the bottom of the Receiver and let it stand so twelve hours Then bath the joints and the luting with warm Water that you may the better loosen the bandage and so take off the head from the Receiver otherwise it would be difficult to do it then you may break the body which will be good for nothing and take out the Faeces which reduce again into Powder add to each Pound of that Powder four Ounces of refin'd Nitre and put the whole into a Cucurbit or Body whereon pour all the Aqua-Fortis before distill'd then put on the Head and Receiver and lute it and dry it well as you did before having put it on the same Sand Furnace during the first four hours make a gentle Fire which afterwards may be encreased little by little till the Head and Receiver begin to grow clear and all the Spirit is drawn over After which let all cool covering the Head and Receiver with wet Cloaths then let it stand twelve hours as before Then unlute the joints again with warm Water and put the Aqua-Fortis into Glass Vessels well stopt that the Spirits may not exhale and keep it so for uses hereafter to be mentioned This is the Aqua-Fortis which is commonly called Water of separation and the best that can be made There are some that instead of Roch-allom take the best Roman Vitriol or the like You may know whether the Vitriol be proper for this use or not by rubbing it on a piece of well polished Iron if it be it will leave a Copper Colour on it Then this Vitriol the purification whereof we will give in the next Chapter will make an Aqua-Fortis far more penetrating than the former Now we come to shew how to make the lute which we promised which tho' common is very usefull in this Case You must take one Part of Lome a fat Earth which is found in Rivers 3 Parts of Sand of common Wood Ashes well sifted and of the Shearings of woollen Cloath each one half mix the whole well together and putting water to them make a soft past to which add one third part of common Salt Powder'd and work them all well together then use them in luting your vessels Here follows the description of a usefull Furnace which may serve instead of several others the Number whereof would be troublesome it being proper for several Operations To render this Furnace more Intelligible to those who are not acquainted with it we have here given a Cut of it whereon we have marked A. B. C. the places made use of with their Names that they may by the same Letters here set down again be the better understood A. is the Ash-hole into which all the Ashes on the Iron Grates which go cross it fall down and which are taken out with a little Iron shovel or a sort of Iron Peel B. is the space or whole room of the Ash-hole C. Is the Fire-Grate which ought to be of square Iron Bars lying with the Edges upwards that the Ashes may not lie thereon which they would do if the flats were upwards D. is the place where the Fire is made of Coal or Wood. E. is the Door of it F. is several holes wherein are put Iron Bars which go cross from one side to the other to keep up the vessels wherein the matters to be worked are contained stopping up the other holes that are not used with Lute G. is the Work hole or little Laboratory of the Furnace H. is a semicircular opening with the like hole in the Cover to put the neck of the Retort through when you distil in a Reverberatory or otherwise I. is the inner part of the Work-hole of the Furnace K. is two Registers L. is the Cover of the Furnace for 8 Registers M. is a round hole which serves for a Register to Reverberate and to pass the neck of the Matrasses through which are in Balneo whether in digestion or otherwise N. is the Registers which are to be opened or shut to augment or diminish the heat of the Fire of the Reverberatory 2. For a Reverberatory Furnace if you cover the work-hole with its cover or door and
fortis of Chap. 52. putting one Pound in a Glass Matrass with four Ounces of Leaf-Silver to dissolve and stop the Matras Take another Matras wherein put a Pound of the same Aqua fortis with five Ounces of Mercury purified with Salt and Vinegar after this manner Take common Salt sprinkle it with Vinegar in a Wooden-dish where add to it a little common fair Water to make it dissolve put in your Mercury and stir it well with a Wooden-Pestle to draw out the Blackness repeat washing them often with fresh Salt and Vinegar till there be no more Blackness then dry them with warm Linen or Cotton and pass it thro' the Glove then it will be purified and fit to put in your Aqua fortis When it is dissolved stop the Matras and keep it Take another Glass Body wherein put a Pound of Aqua fortis with three Ounces of fine Silver calcined Amalgamate the Silver with the Mercury as the Goldsmiths usually do and put it into a Crucible with its weight of common Salt purified as we have heretofore shewn Then put the Crucible on hot Coals that the Mercury may evaporate and that only the Silver remain at bottom which will be purified and calcined Then add to that calcined Silver an equal weight of common Salt purified as before mix them well together and put them over the Fire in a Crucible to calcine them afresh then wash them well with warm Water to take out the Salt then put this Silver into a Glass Vial fill'd with common Water which boil till one fourth part be consumed then let it cool and settle to the bottom then decant off the Water and put more upon it Reiterate this Process with fresh Water three times and at the fourth dry the Silver and put it into your Aqua fortis and stir it well and stop the Matras We have promised to give the way of purifying common Salt which is this Take what quantity you will of Sea-Salt dissolve it in a convenient quantity of common Water boiling it for the space of two Hours then let the Water rest that the earthy part of the Salt may settle to the bottom Then filter the Water and evaporate it in an Earthen Vessel or rather in a Glass Cucurbit till the Salt remain dry at the bottom Dissolve this Salt again making the Water boil then let it stand for the Dregs to settle after which filter it and evaporate it as before which you must continue to do till it leave no more Faeces or Dregs and it will be well purified and prepared To continue our Preparation of the Materials you must put into a Glass Matras a Pound of Aqua fortis with three Ounces of purified Sal-Armoniac that is to say filter'd and whitened till it leave no Faeces or Dregs as we have shewn in common Salt Then dissolve in that Water a quarter of an Ounce of Silver and stop the Vessel well Take another Glass Matras and put into it also a Pound of Aqua fortis with two Ounces of Sal-Armoniac being dissolv'd put into that Water of Cinnabar of Crocus Martis calcined with Sulphur as above of Vltramarine and of Ferretto of Spain prepared as in Chap. 22. of each half an Ounce the whole well pounded into Powder you must do this little by little as we have heretofore hinted for fear of breaking the Vessel by the fermentation which they make with the Aqua fortis then stop the Matras Put into another Matras a Pound of Aqua fortis and dissolve in it two Ounces of Sal-Armoniac as before add to it of Crocus Martis calcined as in Chap. 25 with calcined Tin known among the Glass-Men of Zaffer described in Chap. 17. and of Cinnabar of each half an Ounce the whole well powder'd and cast little by little into your Matras for the Reasons before assigned which require that great precaution then stop the Matras Take another Glass Body wherein put one Pound of Aqua fortis and dissolve in it two Ounces of Sal-Armoniac then add one Ounce of small Leaves of Copper calcined as in Chap. 31 half an Ounce of Scales of Copper thrice calcined as describ'd in Chap. 34 half an Ounce of Manganese of Piedmont prepared as in Chap. 18 and half an Ounce of Scales of Iron which fall from the Smiths Anvil the whole well pounded which cast little by little into your Matras for fear of breaking it then stop it well Put into another Glass Body one Pound of Aqua fortis and two Ounces of Sal-Armoniac The dissolution being made put to it little by little half an Ounce of red Lead one Ounce of Scales of Copper of Chap. 34 half an Ounce of crude Antimony and as much Caput Mortuum of Vitriol purified the whole well pulveriz'd then stop the Matras Take another Glass Matras put into it one Pound of Aqua fortis with two Ounces of Sal-Armoniac add to that Water of Orpiment of white Arsnick of Painters Lake half an Ounce of each the whole being well powder'd and put into a Matras with the same precaution as before stop it well We have not repeated at each Operation that you must put your Matras on an Ash Furnace over a gentle heat or in a warm Bath to hasten the Solution of the Materials because we have told you it must be always done in Chap. 58 in speaking of the Preparation of those things which serve to tinge the first Species of Chalcedony which may suffice for the instruction of those who employ themselves in this Art We will add that all the nine Matrasses mentioned in this Chapter must remain fifteen Days in the same heat stirring them often every Day that the Water may the better operate on the Materials subtilizing them and well opening their Tinctures Then put all these Materials with the Aqua fortis into a great Glass Body little by little that they may unite well together Close the Body and set it in the same heat stirring it well for six Days After that take a great Glass Cucurbit well luted half way up the Body of it put it on an Ash Furnace put into it all the Materials out of your Body fit to it a Head and Receiver lute well all the Joints then distil it during the space of twenty four Hours over a very gentle Fire for fear the Colours should be spoil'd that the Water pass gently over and the Spirits remain in the Powder which of green will become yellow Thus putting that Powder in the requisite Dose as we have taught in the first Species of Chalcedony into purified Glass Metal made of broken pieces of Crystal and not of Fritt and adding to it in its due time calcined Tartar Soot of Chimney Crocus Martis made with Vinegar observing all we have on this Subject remarked these Materials will give an opacity to Glass which may be worked twenty four Hours afterwards managing it well with proper Tools and often heating it and you 'll have
the Furnace This Glass being well purify'd may be wrought and it will give a Black like Velvet fit for many things CHAP. LXVIII Another Way of giving Glass a much fairer Velvet Black ANOTHER Way of giving a Black Velvet Colour to Glass much fairer than the former is to take twenty Pound of Crystal Fritt in Powder with four Pound of Calx of Lead and Tin of each an equal quantity mix the whole well together and put them into a Pot heated in the Furnace and when this Glass is well melted and purified you must cast in three Ounces of Steel calcined and powder'd and three Ounces of Scales of Iron from the Smiths Forge powder'd and mixed with the Steel mix the whole well as you cast them in that the Glass may not rise and the better to incorporate them Then let all rest twelve Hours during which time stir them sometimes then you may work it And you will have a Velvet Black Colour very fair wherewith you may work as you please CHAP. LXIX Another Velvet Black fairer than the precedent THIS last Way of making a Black surpasses in Beauty the preceding Take one hundred Pound of Rochetta Fritt two Pound of Tartar six Ounces of Manganese prepared reduce all to Powder mix them together put them into a Pot which you must put into the Furnace leisurely that the Matter don't rise too much Then let it melt and purifie during the space of four Days or thereabouts mix the Materials well cast them into Water the better to purifie and then melt them again and you 'll have a Black of an extraordinary Beauty which may be wrought as you please CHAP. LXX To make a Milk White Colour in Glass THE Milk White to be done well requires no less exactness than the Blue To succeed in it take twelve Pound of good Crystal Fritt two Pound of Calx of Lead and Tin one of each and half an Ounce of Manganese of Piedmont prepared as we have shewn The whole pulverized and mixed together and put them into a Pot heated in the Furnace where let them stand twelve Hours then mix the whole well and make an Essay of it If the Colour don't please you add to it some Calx of the two Metals before mentioned which incorporate with the Glass well mixing it Eight Hours after the Glass will be fit to work and white as Milk CHAP. LXXI Another Fairer and Whiter Colour THIS second way of giving Milk White to Glass is much better than the precedent and the Working more exquisite We only make use of the Calx of Tin without mixing any Lead and we put sixty Pound of that Calx to four hundred Pound of pure Crystal Fritt with two Pounds and an half of Manganese of Piedmont prepared the whole being well pulverized and mixed must be put in a Pot heated in the Furnace there to purifie during eight Days Then cast the Matter into the Water the better to purifie it then put it to melt again in the same Pot after having dry'd it If it be transparent you must add to it fifteen Pound of the same Calx of Tin as before mixing it well with the melted Metal to make it the better incorporate twenty four Hours afterward it will be finer and whiter than Snow and ready to work CHAP. LXXII The Way to give Glass the Colour of Lapis Lazuli LAPIS LAZVLI which is a fine Blue and full of Veins of Gold will not be easie to imitate without a great deal of Care and Industry in its Preparation To make this fine Colour we must make use of the same Matter of the fine White in the preceding Chapter and when it is in fusion in the Pot you must add to it little by little the Blue Enamel in Powder that the Painters make use of mixing well the whole together each time and that as often as there is occasion to make this Colour Then try if it please you and when it is to your Mind let it stand two full Hours then stir it well and make a second Essay of it If the Colour be perfect let it stand ten Hours and then mix it again If it keeps in the same State without changing colour you may employ it in making what Vessels you please which will be of the true colour of Lapis Lazuli If in working this Glass it chances to rise you may cast in a little Leaf-Gold which will make the Glass approach yet nearer to Lapis Lazuli and which will in a moment stop the rising of the Metal as Sugar will do in boiling Oyl CHAP. LXXIII The Way to make a Marble-Colour in Glass WHITE Marble being very simple it is easie to imitate the way of doing it only requires Crystal Fritt which must be worked as soon as it is melted before it be purified for so it will give a very fair Marble Colour CHAP. LXXIV The Way of making a Peach-Colour in Glass TO make this Colour which is a very agreeable one take Glass prepared and tinged of a Milk White whereof we have spoken in the precedent Chapters and when it is in good fusion put in some Manganese of Piedmont prepared as in Chap. 18 and that little by little stirring the Matter well at each time till the Colour become as fine and perfect as you desire it but you must work the Glass in time otherwise the Colour will be lost and you will have a very fair Peach Colour CHAP. LXXV The Way of tinging Glass of a deep Red. OPAQUE Colours have a Body but the Transparent ones none wherefore this deep Red must be mixed with Matters that give it one as we will shew You must take twenty Pound of Crystal Fritt one Pound of pieces of White Glass and two Pounds of calcined Tin mix the whole well together and put it in a Pot in a Furnace that it may purifie That being well melted cast in an Ounce of calcin'd Steel well pounded and an Ounce of Skales of Iron from the Anvil well pulveriz'd and mixed together stirring well the Glass with an Iron Stirrer when you are putting in the Powder to hinder it from rising too much You must take care not to put in too much of the Powder for that would make the Glass black whereas it ought to be clear shining and of an obscure yellow Colour Then take about six Drachms of calcined Copper prepared as in Chap. 32 cast it upon the melted Glass often mixing it to three or four times and the Glass will be as red as Blood If the Workman like the Colour he must presently work it for fear it should become black and the Colour be lost wherein you must take great care If notwithstanding this the Colour comes to be lost you must add more Scales of Iron in Powder and it will return This Work seems somewhat wearisom but you must not think of that but prepare and finish the business carefully otherwise you will not succeed CHAP. LXXVI The Way of
Calcining Natural or Rock Crystal to make an Extraordinary Fritt ALTHO' we may imitate Natural Crystal by help of Art and make as fine with the Materials we have shewn how to prepare yet the way we are going now to describe of making a Fritt of Natural Crystal will make one so extraordinary that it will surpass in beauty all we have yet shewn the Preparations of Make Natural Crystal red hot in a Crucible covered close then extinguish it in Water and reiterate the same eight times Then dry it well and grind it on a Porphyry Stone to an impalpable Powder Often purifie this Powder of Crystal after the same way we have shewn to purifie Polverine of Rochetta in Chap. 7 observing all we have said on that Subject Then mix that Crystalline Matter with about one third part of Salt extracted from Polverine of Rochetta prepared as in Chap. 7 make a Fritt of it then put it into a Pot well heated in the Furnace and when it is in good fusion add to it a proportionable Dose of prepared Manganese of Chap. 17. After that often cast it into the Water to purifie as we have noted in ordinary Crystal and purifie it very well at the Fire before you work it as we have elsewhere hinted Then you will have a Crystal more beautiful and shining than you have otherwise ever seen CHAP. LXXVII To make Pearl Colour in Crystal TRUE Pearl Colour is so fine and shining that it might seem difficult to give it to Crystal yet it is so easie that Tartar alone does it Those who have a mind to perform this Process must calcine their Tartar till it become White as we have shewn at the end of Chap. 5 then having well purified the Fritt of the Natural Crystal whereof we have spoke in the preceding Chapter and being in a good fusion in the Furnace you must cast into it this white Tartar at several times mixing the whole well each time which must be continued to be done till the Glass becomes of a Pearl Colour for there is no other Rule in this Case than Experience to guide your self by When the Colour is come to perfection and the Workman likes it he must presently work it because it will be soon lost as Experience testifies and you may make of it Works of an extraordinary Beauty CHAP. LXXVIII The Way to tinge Natural Crystal of a Viper colour THE Green Viper Colour is not disagreeable but it is very dangerous to make by reason of the Materials whereof it is composed if you are not very careful in making it Take two Ounces of Rock Crystal of a good Water two Ounces of crude Antimony and as much Orpiment with one Ounce of Sal-Armoniack reduce these three last into Powder Stratifie with these Powders the Pieces of Crystal in a good Crucible cover it with another that is bored through the bottom lute them well together and when the Lute is dry put them in the middle of the Coals in a Furnace let them be gently lighted that the Crucible may grow hot by degrees It will smoak very much when it first grows hot wherefore this Operation must be made in a large Chimney that the Smoak may fly away and you must go out of the Laboratory because it is very dangerous and may prove Mortal Let the Fire kindle of it self and the Crucible grow cold then take out the Pieces of Crystal which lie on the top of the Crucible which will have the Colour of Rubies and be marked with fine Spots and those which are at the bottom will for the most part have the Colour of Vipers Separate the other pieces from them which will be of other Colours and polish the whole at the Wheel like other Stones then with Foils you may set them in Gold These Stones will be of a very agreeable colour You might tinge a great number together but that would be more chargeable CHAP. LXXIX To make in Natural Crystal the Colour of Rubies Topaz Opal Gyrasol and others IT seems something strange that Crystals mixed with Matters that tinge it should in the same Vessel receive so many different Colours But if you consider that the Spirits of these Matters have Virtues different from those of their Bodies you will not so much wonder at such Diversities The Pieces which lie highest are the most penetrated by these tinging Spirits which always ascend and so give them more vivacity and colour and so to the others in proportion to your Orders For this Operation take two Ounces of Orpiment of a yellow Colour approaching Gold or Saffron and as much White Arsenick one Ounce of crude Antimony and the same weight of Sal-Armoniac the whole reduced to Powder and mixed together With this Powder stratifie pieces of Natural Crystal in a great Crucible putting the least pieces to the bottom and the greatest at the top which ought to be fine and without Spots The Crucible being fill'd with the Powder and Crystal cover it with another bored at the bottom lute them well and let the lute dry This last Crucible must as we have said be bored at bottom that the smoak of the Materials ascending through the Hole may better tinge the Crystals in passing which it would not do so well if it passed out of the sides When the Lute is dry put it in the Furnace and cover it with Coals up to the middle of the Crucible on the top then put some live Coals to them that they may kindle â—y themselves little by little they ought to be great Coals and made of Oak You must take care of the Smoak it being very dangerous as we said before and order it so that they kindle well that the Business may succeed and that the Fire may go out of it self taking care that no Air can get in at the Mouths of the Crucibles for that would make the Crystals break and then they are good for nothing The Crucibles being cold unlute them and take the Crystals out the greatest parts of which will be tinged with the colours we have mentioned Polish the best colour'd at the Wheel which will also brighten their Colours and make them look like Oriental Stones and they 'll be fair and hard as they are All the Success of this Secret consists in the Orpiment which must be of the colour of Gold and if you don't succeed the first time you must try a second and observing well what we have said you may be assured to succeed The End of the Third Book OF THE ART OF GLASS BOOK IV. CHAP. LXXX The Way of making Glass of Lead commonly called Vitrum Saturni To calcine Lead and extract from it the Colours of Emerald Topaz Sea-green or Azure Granate Sapphire Gold and other Colours GLASS of Lead known to few Artists in this way because they make no use of it by reason of its brittleness is beyond doubt the fairest and noblest Glass of any other In this Glass you
to it some Crocus Martis and the Greenness will vanish then you will have a Golden-colour very fine which may be Wrought These are all the Colours we can give to Glass of Lead alone We shall augment the Number in a Past of Lead whereof we shall shew the Preparation in the following Book because it is useful for imitating Precious Stones as we shall shew in the same Book which is the Reason we have not done it in this The End of the Fourth BOOK OF THE ART OF GLASS BOOK V. CHAP. XCI Shewing the Way to prepare Natural Crystal and to make a very fine Salt of Tartar and several sorts of Pasts for Emerald Topaz Chrysolite Iacinth Granat Sapphire Beryl or Egmarine Carbuncles Rubies and several other Colours of so great Beauty that they surpass the Natural Stones themselves in every thing but Hardness WITHOUT doubt it will seem surprizing to several that Art should be capable of imitating the Natural Colour of Precious Stones in so great Perfection as that the Beauty of the Artificial should surpass that of the Natural Oriental ones in every thing excepting their hardness which they have been many ages in acquiring and I doubt not but several Ingenious Men are this day searching after means to give them that too The Curious will find in this Book all that is necessary to attain this Art nay and to do something more than I mention For since Art can easy imitate Nature it is not to be doubted but that Ingenious Men may some time or other arrive to give the same perfection to Crystals that precious Stones have acquired in the Bowels of the Earth The Natural or Rock Crystal which we make use of as the Basis of our Artificial Gems is the only Stone that does not proceed from any Metal being the first substratum of others only made of a congealed Water with a subtil Earth as other precious Stones It s Virtue proceeds from Mercury and the Spirit of Raphael having also a great Sympathy with Saturn and Iupiter whence it is proper for healing several Diseases All the diversities of Gems proceed only from a sulphur or an unctuous Substance which insinuates its self in their Composition which fixes them more or less and also tinges them This Sulphur is an Exhalation of Metalline and Mineral Spirits forced up by the Central Fire which virtually contains divers Colours and which are determin'd and brought into act by proper Subjects Thus Granat and other precious Stones agree with Crystal as Mercury does with Saturn their harmony in the Heavens assures us of these reasons and proportions here on Earth Precious Stones derive their Origin from the Stars and the Primum Mobile as do the Metals both perfect and imperfect of the colour of Sulphur and the qualities whereof they partake and wherein they agree with the Stars Great and wonderful Operations might be performed with these Precious Stones if they were separated from the Impurity of their terra damnata and reduc'd by the universal Menstruum into their first principles It is only by this Menstruum or mundane Spirit that Metals and Minerals can also be so dissolv'd that being full of their Attractive Virtues We can boldly assert that this universal Spirit contains in it self all the secrets of Alchymy and that without it it is impossible to have the Tincture Water and Salt of Precious Stones or to make use of the admirable Virtues God has imparted to them Yet I don't dispute but that there is a certain Acid Water Extracted from a Simple wherein a dissolution of Gems may be made and an admirable Magisterium and a Precious Treasure for the Health being prepar'd secundum Artem. That Water will also extract the Tincture of Gold the Virtue of which is not less for preservation of Life and curing several Malignant Fevers As to Artificial Gems which are the Subject of this Book all the Art consists in rightly imitating the Tinctures of those that are fine which must be extracted from Subjects that resist the Fire The Tinctures we give them are fixed in the Crystals though volatile without altering their Colour As for example Verdigrease being put on the Fire becomes of another Colour but being in fusion with the Crystal it fixes and changes not its Colour for natural Colours always return to their principle and the great quantity of fixed always retains some of the volatile You must therefore for this end take permanent Colours which change not being mixed one with another For example Blue and Yellow make Green you must therefore take a Blue that cannot be altered by the Yellow you mix with it and a Yellow that cannot be altered by the Blue and so of others Isaac Hollandus who has writ much on the Art of making Gems shews us a very fine way by which he has performed things almost incredible We will give you some of his Preparations among those we deâ—â—gn to treat of and add several curious Matters to whaâ— he has said of them both for Pasts Tinctures and tâ— Fabrick of Gems to Encourage the Lovers of this Art to set their Hands to work at it It is true the way is troublesome and tedious but any one that will diligently apply himself to it will find himself sufficiently rewarded for his pains both by the Pleasure of seeing so fine Productions and the Profit he may get by a thing of so small charge CHAP. XCII The Way of preparing Natural Crystal WE have already given a very fine Preparation of Natural Crystal in the second Book Chap. 76 yet we will give you here the principal one which is its Calcination and which we will explain at large To perform this Calcination well Take Natural Crystal the fairest you can get since that is the Basis for Artificial Gems it is no matter whether it be in great or small pieces Fill with these Pieces of Crystal a large Crucible cover it with a Cover made of the â—ame Earth which must be somewhat broader than the Mouth of the Crucible for fear Ashes or Coals tumble in which you must take particular care of Then set your Crucible in burning Coals in a little Furnace and when your Crystal is well heated cast it into a Vessel of cold Water the more Water there is so much the better will the Calcination be performed because the cold of it is so much the greater Then take it out of the Water and dry it in an Earthen Ladle then put it into the same Crucible to be heated again taking care to cover it well Then cast it again â—nto fresh cold Water and repeat heating it and quenching it thus twelve times changing each time the Water You may know if your Crystal be well calcined for it will easily break and crumble If there appear in it any black Veins you must take care to take them all clean out by breaking them and do this till only the White remains behind then it is well prepared After
reason of their smallness but give a very fine Colour The same may be done with Rubies Sapphire and other precious Stones as Chymists well know If I should treat of all those Colours in this Tract it would make it half as big again as I design it and would be too prolix for our present Purpose what we have shewn already is sufficient to make very fine Works CHAP. CX To make Sulphur Saturni to be used in Pasts for all Artificial Gems ISAAC HOLLANDVS has so well shewn us the way to imitate the Colour of all Precious Stones that I cannot pass by in silence this following Method of his extracted from his Works As it is not common nor his Book seen by every one and that there may be some that cannot understand him we thought the Reader might be glad to have it since it is the most curious way that can be made use of for this Work The way to make his Sulphur for it is this Take Ceruss or White-Lead ground very small put it into a great Glass Body and pour thereon as much distill'd Vinegar as will rise a Palm above it and as the Vinegar will rise and swell very much at first pouring on you must take care to pour it on gently till all the fury and noise be gone Then set this Body on a hot Furnace in Sand there to evaporate the eighth part of it away Then let it cool and decant off the remainder of the Vinegar which will be well coloured and full of Salt which keep in another Glass Vessel Then pour fresh distill'd Vinegar on the remainder of the Ceruss set it again on the Furnace to evaporate as before and decant off that Vinegar as the former Reiterate this Process of putting fresh Vinegar on your Matter and evaporating it and decanting it off till it have no further Colour nor Sweetness which commonly happens about the sixth time Take all your coloured Vinegars and carefully filter them off then take one or more Glass Cucurbits and evaporate all the Vinegars over a gentle Fire and you 'll find remaining at bottom a Salt of Saturn of Lead very White Then take a Glass Matras lute it well down to the middle of the Body and put your Salt of Lead in it and put it on a Sand Furnace over a gentle Fire for the Space of twenty four Hours covering it with Sand up to the Neck Then take out your Salt which ought to be as red as Cinnabar and grind it fine on a Marble if it be Yellow you must put it on the Fire again for twenty four Hours longer and take care it don't melt for then all is spoil'd When your Salt of Lead is perfect as we have shewn you must put it again into a Glass Cucurbit and pour distill'd Vinegar on it as before and decant it off when it is enough coloured and put fresh Vinegar on the remaining Salt and continue this process till all the Salt be dissolved and the Faeces or Dregs all separated After that put all these coloured Vinegars into Glass Vessels and let them stand six Days to settle then filter them carefully and separate all the Faeces Then put all these filter'd Vinegars into a great Glass Body to evaporate as before and you 'll find at the bottom a very white Salt of Lead sweet as Sugar This Salt being well dried dissolve it afresh in common Water and let it stand six Days that all the Faeces may precipitate to the bottom Then filter that Water and evaporate it in a Glass Cucurbite over a gentle Fire as we have said and you 'll have at bottom a Salt more white than Snow and as sweet as Sugar Reiterate this Method of dissolving in fair Water â—iltering and evaporating till three times then take your Saccharum Saturni and put it in a Glass Body in a Sand Furnace over a temperate heat where leave it for several Days without augmenting the Fire then it will become redder than Cinnabar and give a Calx finer than Wheaten Flour It is this Calx thus purified from all its Terrestreity which is called Sulphur of Saturn Now in making Pasts for Emerald Sapphire Granat Topaz Chrysolite Blue and other Colours you must employ it instead of Minium in the same Doses we have shewn in the precedent Chapter of this fifth Book Observing all we have noted in the Subject of Baking and proceeding as in Chap. 94. Then you 'll have Stones of different Colours far fairer than the Natural ones and which can scarcely be distinguished from them The Pasts made with this Sulphur will not have that Grease and Yellowness which others have and will not be so apt to spot by the Breath Upon this account the Curious will have no cause to repent of the trouble of making this Sulphur tho' the Work be very laborious They also know that all fine Works require very pure Matters and that they cannot have that purity without the great time and care of those who undertake them I may also here say that this Work well carried on is more precious than it seems to be except to those who are acquainted with it For the sweetness this Lead has acquired by the Preparation we have shewn is a true sign of its Purity that it is fit to make a Medicine very homogeneous to Nature I don't say that this Preparation alone we have here shewn is sufficient for so elevated a Mystery as that whereof we speak but I cannot also conceal that it is the chief part of the Work especially if you observe some little Circumstances which Isaac Hollandus has omitted to mention whether he was ignorant of them or thought them not necessary to his Preparation I can't tell The Learned will easily penetrate into this Mystery and others that have a true desire to know it will find Subject to exercise their Wits on in embracing so serious a Study to penetrate into the depths of it CHAP. CXI The Way to make very hard Pasts with Sulphur of Saturn and to give them all the Colours of Precious Stones THIS Paste is a Consequent of the precedent Operation because we employ therein the same Sulphur of Saturn we just now mentioned and that which chiefly causes its Beauty is that all the Ingredients we use in it are perfectly purified To do this take ten Pound of Natural Crystal prepared with six Pound of Salt extracted from Polverine of Rochetta purified pounded and well searced as we have shewn in Chap. 7 whereunto add two Pound of Sulphur of Saturn chymically prepared as in the preceding Chapter then mix these three Powders well together and put them into an Earthen glazed Pan and cast on them a little common fair Water to reduce these Powders into a Lump something hard Afterwards divide them into several Parcels of about three Ounces each making a hole in the middle the better to dry them at the Sun being well dry'd put them into an Earthen Pot well
a Crucible covered with another which lute and dry well then put it into a Glass-house Furnace for three Hours and then let it cool gently in the Annealing Furnace Having taken your Matter out of the Crucible you may cut and polish it as you please and you 'll have a very fine Oriental Topaz CHAP. CXXII The Way to make Chrysolite WE have also describ'd the Nature and Properties of the Chrysolite in this Book as well as of the Topaz and other Gems wherefore we will only shew the way here to imitate its Colour Take ten Ounces of our Powder of Natural Crystal and Saturnus Glorificatus to which add one Ounce of Crocus Martis prepared the whole reduced to fine Powder well mixed and put into a Crucible covered and luted as we have said Observing moreover what we have remarked for the Baking and you 'll have a fine Chrysolite-colour which will be of the Native Green CHAP. CXXIII Another Way of making all sorts of Precious Stones much harder to turn Iargons of Avernia into Diamonds to make Diamonds of Alanson and harden them to make white and fine Sapphires as hard as true Diamonds c. HERE we give another way of making Precious Stones different from those we have given before which will be much harder and consequently approach nearer the Nature of fine ones because we employ no Saturn therein which always makes Stones softer and heavier what Preparation soever you use of it We shall only make use of Natural Crystal and some Materials added to it to give it the Colours of all sorts of Precious Stones We also use in the Composition of the Materials of these Gems fine and pure Salt of Tartar prepared as in Chap. 93 which ought to open our Crystal and make it the better imbibe the Colour of the Tinctures which we give it which will make the Stones appear more fine and shining To prepare our Crystal you must first calcine it as we have shewn in Chap. 92 that is by heating it red hot in a Crucible and quenching it often in cold Water changing the Water each time But instead of grinding it to an impalpable Powder upon a Marble as we have shewn in the same Chapter you must pound it in a Brass Mortar with a Pestle of the same and not use Iron no more than Marble then searce the Crystal through a fine Sieve and this is the Basis of all our following Gems We should have desired to have put down all our Preparations in one Chapter since there are only the Doses and the Colours to be changed the more to abridge this Work but the fear such a Mixture should breed confusion obliges us to continue our Work as we have begun it which is to make a Chapter of each sort of Stone and of the difference of their Colours After that we will give the true manner of turning Jargons of Avernia into Diamonds to make Diamonds of Alanson to harden them and make them exceeding Sparkling to give hardness to white and fine Sapphires so that it will be difficult to distinguish them from true Diamonds Finally we may chance to add something further for the sake of the Curious CHAP. CXXIV The Way to make a fair Emerald WE will abridge as much as possible all the Processes of these Chapters that we may not trouble the Reader with dull Repetitions The change of Materials for this Work making great differences in it we could not explain in one Chapter all the different Ways of making one and the same Stone because such a Mixture would occasion confusion To make a fine Emerald of our Crystal Take two Ounces of it and add to it forty eight Grains of Crocus Martis and two Ounces and forty eight Grains of pure Salt of Tartar prepared as in Chap. 93 the whole reduced into fine Powder in a Brass Mortar which put into a Crucible covered with another and luted well together then put it into the Glass-house Fire there to bake twenty four Hours and then in the Annealing Furnace for twelve Hours that the Matter may cool little by little which then take out of the Crucible cut and polish and you 'll have a perfect Emerald CHAP. CXXV The Way to make a Violet Sapphire WE shall shew several ways of making Sapphires of our Crystal of different Colours To make this take one Ounce of our Powder of Crystal one Dram of Salt of Vitriol and nine Drams of fine Salt of Tartar the whole in fine Powder Then proceed further as we have shewn in the preceding Chapter and you 'll have a Sapphire of a very fine Violet-colour CHAP. CXXVI Another Violet Sapphire of a deeper Colour THIS Sapphire will be very fine but of a very deep Colour and if any Person desire it to be lighter he may easily make it so by diminishing one fourth part of the tinging Ingredients which we add to Crystal Take to make this two Ounces of our Powder of Crystal two Ounces five Drams and twenty four Grains of Verdigrease thirty two Grains of Azure and two Drams of Sublimate the whole in very fine Powder As to the baking of it observe what we have said in Chap. 124. CHAP. CXXVII Another very fine Blue Sapphire THE Blue Colour of Sapphire is no less agreeable than the Violet and it is the Male of its Kind To make it take one Ounce of our Crystal in Powder add to it a Dram of Salt of Vitriol three Grains of Verdigrease one Grain of Azure and one Ounce one Dram four Grains of our fine Salt of Tartar the whole in fine Powder put it into a Crucible covered and luted to be baked and purified as we have heretofore shewn and you 'll have a very fine Blue Sapphire c. CHAP. CXXVIII Another fine Sapphire THE Colours of these Sapphires being different by the Dose and mixture of the Ingredients we will shew each in a Chapter by it self Take two Ounces of our Powder of Crystal two Ounces of our fine Salt of Tartar five Drams twenty four Grains of Verdigrease and thirty two Grains of Arure the whole reduced to impalpable Powder which you must set to bake and purifie in a covered Crucible in a Glass-house Furnace aswe have said before and you 'll have a very fine Sapphire CHAP. CXXIX Another Admirable Blue TO arrive to this fine Colour take one Ounce of our Powder of Crystal one Dram fifty six Grains of our fine Salt of Tartar the whole reduced to a fine Powder put it into a Crucible covered and luted which bake and purifie twenty four Hours in a Glass-house Furnace then set it to cool gently twelve Hours in the Annealing Furnace Then you 'll have an admirable Blue which you may cut and polish c. CHAP. CXXX The Way to make Beryl or Egmarine THIS Beryl-colour will be very fine Sky-colour if you take one Ounce of our Powder of Crystal one Ounce of our fine Salt of Tartar and six Ounces of Salt of
of a very fine Diamond Colour hard shining and sparkling like the true ones which you may polish and work up as the Goldsmiths This Sulphurous Trepoly which enters into the Composition of this Paste being not commonly known we will shew the way of making it that we may leave nothing imperfect which might be any Obstruction to the Proceedings of the Curious Take equal parts of Trepoly of crude Antimony and common Sulphur and grind them to a fine Powder on a Porphyry Stone and make them into a Paste with Vinegar which being dry will easily crumble This is the Sulphurous Trepoly which we make use of Some Persons in making the same Process of taking away the colour from Jargons and giving them the hardness and whiteness of Diamonds have made use of Barly-meol wherewith they make a Paste with distill'd Vinegar impregnated with Lead wherewith they stratifie their Stones or Jargons in a Crucible covered with another and well luted which they afterwards put in a gradual round or Wheel Fire for six Hours But this way they could not give them the true Diamond-colour Wherefore I advise those who would try this Experiment to follow our first Process which has several times succeeded There are moreover some who stratifie their Stones with pounded Coal which they put in a Crucible covered and luted which they set on the Fire six Hours so that the Crucible be always red hot I don't approve of this way because the Coals may dry the Humour of the Stone and calcine it CHAP. CXXXIX The Way to make Diamonds THE Quality and Colour of the Diamond being so well known we shall not enlarge upon them in this Chapter but only shew the way to counterfeit them make them endure the Fire and harden them Take of good Natural Crystal calcined and reduced to subtile Powder what Quantity you please fill a Pot with it and set it in a Glass-house Furnace twelve Hours to be melted and purified Then drop the melted Matter into cold Water then dry it and reduce it again to Powder add to that Powder its weight of our fine Salt of Tartar of Chap. 93. Mix these two Powders well and make little Pills of them with common Water Then wipe these Pills and put them into an Earthen Pot on a strong Fire there to grow red hot for twelve Hours space without melting Then put them into a Pot in a Glass-house Furnace where leave them two Days to be well melted and purified then put the Matter twelve Hours in the Annealing Furnace to cool little by little Then break the Crucible and you 'll have a fine Material for Diamonds which cut and polish at the Wheel CHAP. CXL Another Way of making the Diamond of Alanson HERE follows a way of making Diamonds of Alanson which is not quite so fine as the precedent but has notwithstanding several Advantages which attend it besides it is more easie since there only needs an ordinary Fire to succeed in it Take an Earthen glazed Pot set it on a little Furnace put in it Filings of Steel with some Vine-Ashes at discretion wherein place by one another Crystals cut and polished then pour common Water gently on it which warm and boil during the space of twelve Hours taking care to add boiling Water fresh into the Vessel as the Water in it consumes by boiling and take care it boil continually Then see if your Crystals have acquired the colour and hardness you expected If not continue the Fire some Hours longer and they will be like the true Diamonds of Alanson taking care to repolish them again at the Wheel to give them colour and brightness CHAP. CXLI The Way to give the true Colour and Hardness of a Diamond to Crystals and Diamonds of Alanson THERE is nothing in Nature which Art cannot imitate and oftentimes those things which seem most difficult prove to be most easie when managed with Judgment or when he that undertakes to do them has experimented any thing of the like Nature before and knows the Nature and Properties and Powers of his Subject Although the Imperfect Metals be immature or unripe they contain notwithstanding a great deal of fixed and volatile Gold which may be easily separated or attracted out by means of Art Imperfect Metals may be very much meliorated by Fire by a proportionable and agreeable coction There are also Crystals and Precious Stones which have no Natural hardness which may be given them by Art having all the Natural Dispositions thereunto required since they have the same Principle as the most fine and that they only want a little Sulphur which hinder'd their thorough coction Thus this Defect may be obviated in Precious Stones as well as Metals by giving them a due coction and so changing them for the better We will begin to give the most simple way of attaining it before we shew those that are more exalted You may give the colour and hardness of Diamonds to Crystals and Diamonds of Alanson by taking good Dutch Trepoly and making a Paste of it with Water out of the Smiths Forge wherein you must wrap up the quantity you design of Crystals or Diamonds of Alanson cut and polished then set it in a Crucible covered and luted on a gradual Fire where let it stand till the Crucible become red hot A little time after take it out and take out the Stones then polish them again at the Wheel to give them their colour To set them in Works take Indian Paper with Leaves of Tin like those you put behind Looking-glasses then let them be set by some good Goldsmith and they can scarce be distinguished from fine oneâ— except by very nice Discerners CHAP. CXLII Another Way to harden Crystals and Diamonds of Alanson CRYSTALS also acquire hardness in the Paste we are now going to describe because their Humidity exhales and they become more fixt Take Barly-Meal well sifted with Petroleum or Rock-Oyl then cut that Paste in the middle and put all your Stones in order so that they may not touch one another Then cover your Stones with the other half of the Paste then put it in a Crucible covered with another and luted well together and let it dry Then set this Crucible in a gradual Wheel-Fire from five to six Hours a small Fire the two first Hours which enâ—rease from two to two Hours till the end of the six then let the whole cool of it self Then break your Crucibles and you 'll find your Stones very fine shining and sparkling like fine Diamonds which repolish at the Wheel and set by a skilful Workman CHAP. CXLIII A Way to harden Crystals and Diamonds of Alanson and to make them sparkle as much as Natural Oriental Diamonds ALTHOUGH this be an important Secret and ill People may commit Cheats by it yet I will here give it for the sake of the Curious who only seek for their own Satisfaction Take one Pound of Load-stone a Pound of Quick-Lime and half a
very well each time with your Iron Hook that the Powders may incorporate and for Reasons by us given elsewhere before Thus when your Matter is fully and well tinged take the Approbation of a Goldsmith on some of it as to the Colour that you may have the more assurance before you proceed to empty your Pot. Your own Experience must shew you how to proportion the Ingredients for tinging the Matter more or less If you perceive that the Tinging-powders are too predominant add the more principal prepared Powder if it be too faint add the greater quantity of the Tinging-powders And thus do to improve or lessen the Colour until it be compleat or to Satisfaction CHAP. CLI To make a very fine blue Enamel FEW Persons but are much taken with this Colour as being the most sightly agreeable of all others both from the esteem of its natural Beauty which makes it eminent above the rest of Colours as it has resemblance to that of the Heavenly Arch and is taken for the Symbol of Generosity You may make Enamel of this Colour with four pound of our principal prepared Powder in Chapter CXLVIII two Ounces of prepared Zaffer forty eight Grains of Copper thrice calcined mentioned in the precedent Chapter these reduc'd to a mixt impalpable Powder must be put into a white glazed Pot when the Metal is well melted cast it into Water and when 't is dry return it to the Pot after that let it stand upon the Fire until it be well digested and incorporate Then take it off and you have a very fine Enamel for Goldsmiths which make into Cakes and keep for use as before CHAP. CLII. Another blue Enamel THis Enamel is altogether as gay as the former only the Colour is not the same for which reason we prescribe it here which else would be unnecessary To make it take Principle Powder of Chap. 148. four pound Plates of Copper calcined as in Chap. 30. two Ounces prepared Zaffer as in Chap. 17. forty eight Grains mix and reduce 'em to an impalpable Powder put this into your white glazed Pot and having melted the Metals until they incorporate cast it into Water whence being dry return it to your Pot and let it remain therein until it purifie when the Colour is well mixt and even so as to satisfie you take it off and Cake it as usual CHAP. CLIII To make a pretty Green Enamel THE Gaiety of the Spring being conceived by this Colour renders it exceeding pleasant to the Eye 't is an Idea of Nature revived a Triumph over its Death and the Symbole of its Victory It may be very perfectly imitated if you put four Pound of the Principal Powder in your White glazed Pot and let it melt and purifie ten or twelve Hours in the Furnace afterwards cast it into Water dry it and put it again into the Pot and let it be fully refined then take Scales of Copper thrice calcined as in Chap. 34. two Ounces Scales of Iron at the Smith's Forge on the Anvil-Block forty eight Grains mix and reduce them to an impalpable Powder and throw it at three several times and Portions into your Pot of Principal Matter stirring the Metal very well that it may be equally tinged by the mixture of the Colours if it be to your Fancy and of a pleasant colour let it stand a while in the Fire until it be throughly incorporated thus take it off and you 'll have a delicate Green Enamel very proper for all sort of Goldsmiths Work CHAP. CLIV. Another Green Enamel THE colour of this following is something different from the former but no less excellent Take six Pound of Principal Powder two Ounces of Feretto of Spain prepared as in Chap. 23. forty eight Grains of Crocus Martis prepared with Vinegar according to direction in Chap. 25. make these into an impalpable Powder and mix 'em well and put them into your White glazed Pot let it remain in the Furnace to melt and refine the Matter cast it after this into Water and again into your Pot having dryed it before until it refine very well when 't is melted observe whether the colour be satisfactory and let it stand some hours longer to refine and when 't is taken off you 'll have a very fine Green Enamel for Goldsmiths If the colour be too faint add more tinging Powder proportionably enough to perfect it CHAP. CLV Another Green Enamel THERE is another way to make Green Enamel after this manner Put into a White glazed Earthen Pot four Pounds of Principal Powder and let it refine in the Furnace a little while cast the Metal afterwards into Water and being dryed again into the Pot then add at three equal Portions this Powder compounded of Scales of Copper thrice calcined two Ounces Crocus Martis prepared with Vinegar forty eight Grains these well mixt and powdered together stirring the Metal with the Iron Hook to incorporate it let it remain until it be well refined on the Fire and when 't is well and perfectly colour'd to satisfaction take it off and keep it for use CHAP. CLVI The Way to make Black Enamel THO this Colour be mournful and representing the Image of Death and Darkness yet 't is the Symbole of Constancy Prudence and Resolution the Life of Silence and Secresie and in short of all things which are lasting 'T is most necessary in this Art and can least of all be spared because it has a peculiar Beauty which sets it off among the more splendid and sparkling Pieces you may make a very fair Velvet-colour with 4 Pound of the Principal Powder in Chap. 148. two Ounces of prepared Zaffer and two Ounces of Manganese of Piedmont prepared as directed before mix and pulverize them altogether very well and put them into a glazed Earthen Pot in the Furnace for some Hours the Pot must be more than ordinary large because the Metal will rise very much When 't is purified cast it into Water and dry it and return it into the pot to be refined over again which will be in a little time then see whether the Colour be to your Fancy and accordingly as you find it put in more or less of the former Ingredients and having thus perfected it take it off and cake it this Enamel will be a good Velvet-black for Goldsmiths CHAP. CLVII Another Black Enamel THIS second sort is distinct from the other by the difference of the Quantities and the tinging Ingredients Take six pound of Principal Powder two Ounces of Zaffer prepared according to Chap. 17. two Ounces of Crocus Martis prepared with Vinegar as in Chap. 25. two Ounces of Feretto of Spain assigned in Chap. 23. pound and mix them very well together making an impalpable powder and put it into your glazed pot in the Furnace to melt and purifie when â—t is well digested cast it into Water dry it and put â—t again into the pot where let it remain a while to â—efine when 't
Furnace Vault or on the Upper Vault taking special care that they don't melt let them remain there for three or four Days or until they be very well calcined This done resolve them into an impalpable powder adding thereto four pound of Calx of Lead and Tin prepared and calcined according to directions in Chap. 148. and Chap. 81. four pound of White calcined Tartar prescribed in Chap. 5. and elsewhere These being all mixt and very finely pulverized put them them into your glazed pot at the Glass-house Furnace to melt and refine thence throw the Metal into Water and again when dry into the pot to melt cast it a second time into the Water and dry it let it melt and refine over-again in the pot for some Hours and 't will be fit for use Consider always the Lead which is among the other Ingredients and be very careful that you let none of it remain in the pot when you throw the Matter out into the Water for it will be apt to precipitate to the bottom and this for several Reasons elsewhere given too tedious and needless to be here repeated CHAP. CLXIV An Excellent Preparation of Fusible Manganese to be used in making of our Red Enamel WE have already given sufficient direction to prepare Manganese of Piedmont in Chap. 18. for tinging these Matters of which we have already discours'd but for Red and Rose-colour Enamel there are some more exquisite Ingredients and Preparations required which we think proper to give account of here before we speak of the Enamel it self Any other than Manganese of Piedmont will not serve your turn for that only is fit for our use to contribute to the Fairness and Life of the Colour take therefore equal Quantities of this Manganese and Salt-petre as much as you please and let them reverberate and calcine in an Earthen pot in your Furnace twenty four Hours take it off and wash it well in warm Water to separate the Salt-petre dry it well and the Mass will be of a red Colour To this add an equal quantity of Sal-Armoniack grind these on a Marble with distilled Vinegar as Painters do their Colours dry it and reduce it to Powder putting it afterwards into a strong Matrass or Bolt-head of Glass big-belly'd and long-neck'd there to sublimate about twelve Hours break your Matrass mix all the volatile and fixed parts together adding the same quantity of Sal-Armoniack as there are Flowers and take care to weigh them before Composition grind pulverize and sublime as before repeating this until your Manganese remain fusible in the bottom of the Matras and this is that which you must preserve to tinge Crystal with and make it ruddy and diaphanous or transparent as a Ruby CHAP. CLXV The Way to make a Fixt Sulphur to be used in Compositions for Enamel THIS Fixt Sulphur serves for several uses in Chymistry and very convenient for obliging young Artists Now tho' it be not so unavoidably necessary for making Red Enamel yet we will not omit it here because it contributes to our prescribing two sorts of ways for it as well as to satisfie the more curious Goldsmiths Put Flowers of Sulphur as much as you please into a Glass Cucurbite luted at bottom pouring thereto Oyl-Olive as much as will drown the Matter by two Inches set the Cucurbite on a violent Sand-Furnace for a full Hour then take it off and pour in strong Vinegar and the Sulphur will soon precipitate and the Oyl ascend on the Surface of the Vinegar decant this from the Sulphur into another Vessel and put in more fresh Oyl as before do thus thrice and you 'll have at length a fixt Sulphur to make use of for Enamel CHAP. CLXVI Another fixt Incombustible Sulphur THERE is yet another way for fixation of Sulphur for the same use and several Chymical Operations wherein it has very great Vertue Make strong Lye of Quick-Lime and harsh Oak-Ashes put therein Flowers of Sulphur until the liquid Surface be four Inches upmost boil it for a considerable while over the Fire this will cleanse and purge the Sulphur from its Unctuosity and Corruption and qualifie it for your purpose separate the Lye from the Sulphur and drying it you 'll have it white fixt and incombustible exceeding proper for the Goldsmiths to make use of on Gold We cou'd prescribe several ways more to make Sulphur fixt and fusible but these two already given are sufficient for our purpose we reserve them therefore for some other place to be discovered among Matters more excellent and of greater Curiosity for the Advantage of such Persons who Study the improvement and profounder parts of Chimistry CHAP. CLXVII To Extract Spirit of Saturn an Excellent Ingredient for Enamel and Glass-work WE think fit to propose all the Preparations proper for making a Red Enamel before we shew the way to make it because the Ingredients to be used must first be provided or we can't proceed regularly to our Business Among the rest this Spirit of Saturn is not to be laid aside which tho considered here as useful only in Enamel and Glass-work may have other Vertues familiar to the Learned but for our Business 't is such as does very nobly heighten and much improve the Matter for our Work and for any other not immediately relating to us here we pass over in silence Reduce good Litharge as much as you please to an impalpable powder and set it in a glazed Earthen Vessel over a still Fire add to this good distilled Vinegar till four Inches above it mix 'em well together and then let them settle until the Vinegar become Milk-coloured which will be in a little time decant this Vinegar off gently and put on fresh continuing to do thus until it admits of no more colouring then put all the Milk-coloured Vinegar into a glazed Earthen Vessel and let it stand until the Lead precipitate to the bottom from whence pour of the clear Vinegar which will be at top and that Milk-coulour'd Sediment which remains is what we call Spirit of Saturn tho improperly and that which we 'll make use of for the Enamel and Glass If it do not precipitate well to your liking and that the Vinegar at top be not very clear cast among it some cold Water if that won't do and that your Vinegar still continues muddy set all the Water and Vinegar together over a gentle Fire to evaporate and thus you 'll have the more Spirituous part of your Vinegar a Sediment in the bottom of the Vessel which is exceeding useful for Glass-work keep it together with the rest of the Saturn for use This Noble Preparation which we call Spirit of Saturn does indeed contain it but you must have skill to extract it thereout to say that 't is all Spirit of Saturn is untrue for 't is that wherein the Spirit is contained and from whence it may be more easily and better separated than from the Mass of Lead I propose
cold take 'em out and paint them and put them in again to Bake a second time observing what directions we have already given concerning these Matters and when the Fire is gone out and the Furnace cold you have the Ware in perfection ready to take out for use You may make your China-Ware also of pure Earth let it not be red tho but White or Gray you may try the sufficiency of it after 't is prepared by Baking some beforehand and when it comes out of the Furnace sound and uncracked 't is good and fit for your purpose The Preparation consists in drying it well and reducing it to a very fine Powder then put it into fair Water wherein has been already dissolved a little Gum-Arabick but most of those that make it employ only Water without Gum after this you may make your Dishes set 'em to dry Polish Dry Glaze Bake Paint and finish them as before all which those who work at them know better than I can express it CHAP. CXCVI. How to Enamel the China FOR this take of our Milk-white Enamel Chap. 149. grind it very fine as Painters do their Colours put the Powder afterwards into a Glass-Cucurbit pouring some Aqua-fortis thereon let it digest a little to cleanse off its Impurities and become fine and transparent then pour off the Aqua-fortis washing the Powder in Water over and over again grind it afterwards with a little Gum-Water on your Marble and so glaze the Vessels with it within and without dry them in the Air and Bake them as before in the Furnace Or you may heat the Vessels to a Redness in the Furnace and melt the Enamel when it is in a perfect Fusion dip the smaller Vessels therein and pour of it on the larger for they will take no more on them than will serve them set them by turns in the Furnace stopping it very well to avoid the Air Bake cool your Furnace and finish them as before then take out the Dishes Paint and Bake them over again observing all our former Directions CHAP. CXCVII To paint the China THIS is done as the Enamel discoursed of in Chap. 192. but much more easily the Figures being only just dasht over in comparison to them however you must grind your Colours with Oyl of Spike on the Marble as we have said already and so paint on the Dishes Story Landscape or any other Fancy but you must never expect to have them thereon so compleat and handsome as those painted on the enamel'd Plates because the former are finisht standing and so enlarge in length or breadth whereas the other are done on flats and lying besides the Dishes are for the most part round and not so easily painted for if they cou'd be as neatly done as the Enamel they would be excessive dear CHAP. CXCVIII. To Gild China YOU must first grind some Shade-Earth on a Marble with Linseed-Oyl prepared as shall be shewn in Chap. 200. with which trace out your Figures which must be two whole Days a drying after this apply very thin Leaf-Gold and with a sharp Graver shape the Figures and then put the Dishes in an Oven as soon as the Batch of Bread is drawn out let the Heat be no greater than one's Hand may endure else the Vessels would crack leave them in it for two or three Hours or more if the Oven be not too hot you may else make use of our own Furnace by giving it the same moderate degree of heat as experienced Persons are well acquainted with CHAP. CXCIX Another Way THIS is much more handsome and lively besides that it cannot be effaced you may with it gild Vessels entirely or border or give them any lustre you think convenient for Ornament and it will look as well as fine Gold You must first wet over the Places you would gild with gum-Gum-Water lightly then apply your Leaves and so let them dry this is enough for plain Gilding but if you would have it carved or figured you must make use of a Steel-Graver and afterwards bath the Gold with Water wherein Borax has been dissolved powdering it in the mean time with Crystaline Powder or Milk-white Enamel reduced to a very fine Powder then set the Dish on a Reverberatory Fire to melt and be polisht thus you 'll have as fine a piece of Ware as can be CHAP. CC. The Way to prepare Linseed-Oyl for Gilding of China IT is but just we should discharge our Promise of prescribing this Preparation Take a Paris Pint of Linseed-Oyl in an Earthen Pot which will hold about two Paris Pints put this on a Fire and when it begins to boil throw in twice the bigness of a small Egg of Gum-Arabick pulverized stir all well until it be dissolved then put in an Onion of an ordinary size and the like weight of Garlick cut small when the Oyl boils well and swells up by the force of the good Fire which must be underneath pour it out into another such Pot and so in and out of each Pot to the other until all be very well mixed then put it on the Fire again adding half an Egg-shell of Powder of Mastick and stir it very well as soon as it boils again it will foam and have a great Froth which must be scummed off and then take it off the Fire and brew the Ingredients together with the two Pots as before continue to do thus with it or stir it on the Fire until it rise no more This done take a very dry Toast of White Bead to take off the Grease the Oyl still boiling and when you put in the Toast you must at the same time put in some Pin-Dust stir all well together and let it stand for twenty four Hours afterwards strain the Oyl through a Linen-cloth in which is some very fine Sand the better to filtrate it and take off the Grease and so you 'll have it pure and clear which Bottle up for your Use. Or you may both ways being good enough first mix with the Oyl two Ounces of Gold Litharge pulverized adding the Gum-Arabick as soon as it begins to boil and to purifie it let it filter through a Linen-cloth full of Sand while it 's hot into a Glass-Bottle wherein is already half an Ounce of fine Camphire Powder shaking the Bottle very well until the Oyl be cold afterwards lay it in the Sun for fifteen Days and it will be entirely purged and the longer 't is kept will be the better This is all we have to say at present about China-Ware until we have further enlarged our Knowledge in the Matter which we have not much study'd because we did not intend to treat of it however we afterwards thought it incumbent on us so to discourse thereof as an Art dependant on ours and we hope the Reader will take this in good part until we may give him something more at large OF THE ART OF GLASS BOOK IX Shewing the Method of Drawing all sorts of Story
in Painting Glass for before we proceed to prescribe the Rules how to work the Materials must first be considered The White is compounded of several Ingredients The first are small White River Peble-Stones heated red over a Fire in an Iron-Ladle and thrown afterwards into an Earthen-Dish full of cold Water to calcine them and this must be repeated several times until they be prepared afterwards being dried pound them with a Stone or Glass-Pestle in a Stone-Morter and so grind them upon a Marble to an impalpable Powder then mix a fourth part of Nitre with it and calcine them in a Crucible then pound and grind them again and calcine them a third time over a smaller Fire than your former and so take them off for Use. This done when you would Paint with it add equal parts in weight of Gip a sort of Talc found among Plaster-mold baked on the Coals to a Whiteness and reducible to Powder and Rocaille whereof we have already spoken grind them all three very well together in a hollow Plate of Copper with Gum-Arabick Water thus have you your White in good condition to Paint withal CHAP. CCIV. To prepare Black for painting on Glass AS this Colour cannot be omitted in any sort of Painting so in this the manner of using it is much the same and the Preparation easie You must grind Scales of Iron from the Smith's Anvil-Block for three Hours on the shallow Copper-Bason or Plate add to this one third of the same weight of Rocaille with a little Calx of Copper to hinder the Iron from turning Red in the Fire grind it to as impalpable a Powder as you can bring it to and so keep it in a close Vessel for use CHAP. CCV To prepare a Yellow Paint for Glass THIS Colour requires a more costly Preparation than the precedent because it cannot be well done without a tenth part of prepared Silver as we shall shew hereafter Take fine Silver in Plates from the Copple stratifie 'em in a Crucible with Powder of Sulphur or Nitre the first and last Lay being of the Powder and so calcine them in a Furnace this done cast it out as soon as all the Sulphur is consumed into an Earthen-Bason of Water and afterwards pound it in your Stone-Mortar until 't is fit for the Marble and so grind it with some of its Water wherein it was cooled for six Hours then add nine times its weight of Red-Oaker and grind them together for a full Hour and 't is done and fit for Painting on Glass CHAP. CCVI. To make a Blue for painting Glass THE whole Secret of this Preparation depends on the calcining the Ingredients and goodness of the Crucible Take two Ounces of Zaffer two Ounces of Minium and eight Ounces of very fine White Sand put all these into a Bell-metal Mortar and pound them very well and so into a Crucible covered and luted over a quick Fire for an Hour then draw off the Crucible and pound them again as before This done add a fourth of its weight in Salt-peter powdered and having mixed all very well together return them into a Crucible covered and luted which place again in the Furnace for two Hours at least continuing such another Fire as the former The Crucible being off and cool'd a second time grind the Mass as before and so put it into a Crucible again with a sixth part of Salt-petre and let it remain on the Fire for three Hours then take off the Crucible and immediately with an Iron-Spatula red hot take out the Matter lest it should stick being very clammy and hard to be emptied 'T is convenient to have strong Crucibles for this Calcination because it remains so considerable a while in the Fire and they must be luted with an extraordinary lute you may use that we have given directions for in Chap. 109. adding Powder of Borax to the Powder of Glass vitrified which helps the Fusion of the Glass which we have omitted there but the greatest stress lies in Baking the Crucible afterwards in a small Fire to cement the Pores and make the Earth compact as Glass which would be very much furthered if you threw on it a considerable quantity of Salt as it comes out of the Fire this would glaze it and capacitate it for retaining the Spirits in the Fire CHAP. CCVII. To make Red Colour for Glass Paint THIS requires as much caution as the Blue You must take Scales of Iron and Litharge of Silver of each a Dram Feretto of Spain half a Dram Rocaille three Drams and half grind all these for half an Hour on a shallow Copper-Plate in the mean time pound three Drams of Blood-Stone in an Iron-Mortar and add it to the rest then pound a Dram of Gum-Arabick in that Mortar to an impalpable Powder to take off the remains of your Blood-stone and so add it to the rest grinding them still continually lest the Blood-stone be spoiled The best manner of grinding these is to pour Water by little and little on the Ingredients as you grind them neither wetting them too much nor too little but just as much as will keep a good Temper as for Painting Afterwards put all into a foot Glass and so drop on it through a small hollow Cane of Wood or with your Finger as much Water as will bring it to the consistence of an Eggs-Yolk buttered or a little more then cover the Glass to preserve it from Dust and so let it stand three Days to settle After this decant the clearest and purest of the Colours that rise at top into another Glass without disturbing the Sediment and two Days after it has settled anew pour off again the purest of the Colours as before This done set it in the Body of a broken Matrass or Bolt-head over a gentle flow Fire to dry easily and so keep it for use When you have occasion for it take a little fair Water in a Glass and with it moisten as much Colour as you think convenient that will be excellent for Carnation as for the Faeces which are very thick dry 'em too and you may moisten these in like manner with Water for Drapery Timber-colour and such other as you think convenient CHAP. CCVIII To make a Purple-colour for painting of Glass THE Preparation of this Purple-colour is exactly like that of the Blue for this Reason we need not use any tedious Repetitions You must take an Ounce of Zaffer and an Ounce of very pure and clean Perigeux two Ounces of Minium eight Ounces of very fine white Sand pound all these in a Bell-metal Mortar and reduce it to an impalpable Powder put it afterwards into a good Crucible well covered and luted in the Furnace keep a very good Fire to it for an Hour then draw it out and as soon as it is cold pound the Mass over again in the same Mortar to this add a fourth part of its weight of Nitre mix them together and put them into
as possible and so let it dry throughly afterwards moisten the Paper on the Blank-side and with a blunt Graver draw off and trace the Lines of the Picture which will afterward remain perfect and distinctly on the Varnish-side of your Glass Quarre This Draught is for the Model you must paint your Fillings in and observe that the Tracings and Strokes of the Picture are to serve you in Shadowing which cannot be rejected without disadvantage to your piece The manner of painting on Glass is quite contrary to that of Limning or Painting on Cloath or Wood for in this the paint being but on one side is plainly visible on the other here the Settings off are first done then the compound Colours just run over and so continuing until perfected whereas on Linen c. the Settings-off or Heightnings are the last strokes and their Ground-colour or first is that which we end withal and make our last lay with in all pieces done on Glass We do not shew the Way to make up the Colours nor how to mix and finish the Artificial ones for that relates immediately to the Art of Painting of which several pieces are extant and not to this Art of Glass and these noted herein are the same as in the other Art of Painting on Cloath and not very uneasily prepared You must also paint on Glass just as in Miniature with Water-Colours laying your Picture underneath it as before and this will shew finer than if done in Oyl besides the Colours dry in a moment Your pieces being thus done in Oyl or Water-colour may receive a very additional and improving Beauty by over-laying all the Colours except the Ground with Leaf-Silver which will appear very glorious and lively on such as are transparent to wit Lakes Verditers c. CHAP. CCXV The Manner of Gilding on Glass WE promised to shew this Way of Gilding on Glass after we had done with Painting and this we will discharge here Take any Glass you please and moistening it over where you design to gild with gum-Gum-Water apply your Leaf-Gold and so let it dry cover the Glass over with any piece of hollow Glass and set it on an Iron-Plate at the Mouth of the Furnace to heat gently and when 't is well heated move it in further and in a very little time it will be red hot then withdraw it and let it cool slowly at the Furnace Mouth Thus if you have laid your Gold well on at first you 'll find it so well communicated to the Glass that 't is impossible for any Tryal to endamage the Gilding And after this method you may do with Globes and give them a wonderful Beauty which no Dust nor injury of Time can alter CHAP. CCXVI Another Way to Gild Glass THIS second Way is altogether as fine as the other besides the Gilding is better coated and less exposed to Injury Take a Glass and moisten it every where you design to Gild with Gum-Water and lay on your Leaf-Gold letting it dry this done run the Gold over with Water wherein Borax has been dissolved and so dust it with impalpable powder of Glass set it afterwards by degrees into your Furnace until it become red hot and the powder on the Gilding be melted and run then draw it out leisurely letting it cool at the Mouth of the Furnace and you 'll have your Glass very finely Gilded so that nothing in Nature can spoil it unless it be broken Or you may Gild on Glass with Linseed-Oyl c. as in Chap. 198. after the same manner as on China but the Ways we have just now given are so fine that we look upon them to be more excellent such as would make a choice may work by Directions in this present Chapter CHAP. CCXVII To imitate Precious-Stones in Colours on Globes or other Vessels of White Glass THIS Way of tinging is different from what we have already given and because we would not willingly leave out any thing that may serve the Curious we will give the Method in this Chapter You may thus tinge any Vessel of White Glass either Globular or Concave with Mouth-Glue letting it soak in Water for two Days and so boil it afterwards until it be all melted and let it cool ◠little Pour it Milk-warm into your Globe or other Vessel shaking it therein to wet it all over and so pou◠it out again Then your Colours being all ready i◠Powders first blow in the Vermillion through 〈◊〉 hollow Pipe so as to represent Clouds or Wavings in like manner blow in the Blue-Enamel Scales of Copper Orpiment and Lake all in fine powder these Colours will stick in Undulations because the Glew is moist you may do thus with any other Colours This done take Plaister well pulverized and put a good quantity thereof into the Vessel and shake it well all over before and until the Glew be quite dry and it will stick all round then shake out what remains loose and you 'll have the outside finely party-colour'd and Marbled c. When these Colours are well dried they will stick so to the inside that they will never come off but remain always fine set these Globes on Stands where they may be for Ornament and the pleasure of those who shall see and consider their Admirable Beauty The End of the Ninth BOOK OF THE ART OF GLASS BOOK X. Shewing how to Extract the Essential Tincture of all Herbs or Flowers as Yellow Red Green Blue Violet Purple-colour'd c. With their respective Lakes To make Ultra-marine German-Blue c. as well for the Art of Glass as Painting CHAP. CCXVIII NOT to omit any thing which at all concerns the Art of Glass we thought convenient in this Tenth Book to give the Publick a Method of Extracting all manner of Essential Tinctures from Herbs as well as Flowers a Work not only necessary for Painting but the Art of Glass too We shall also give Directions to make Lake of several Colours Vltra-marine of Lapis-Lazuli with German-Blue c. The manner we prescribe for making these Colours does equally qualifie them for tinging Glass Stones Enamel and for Paint on Enamel and Glass-work and all this so prepared as not to press on the Diversions or pall the Pleasure of the several Artists or other curious Persons who employ themselves that way for Recreation What can be more admirable than the Products and Liberality of Nature in bestowing such excellent Enamel on Flowers and Plants as contribute to furnish Painting with such fine and lively Colours which the Industry of Mankind can extract and so well adapt to the Conveniency of Art as to produce Effects finer and more beautiful than any other whatsoever The use of Flowers and Plants is not wholly confined to this Noble Art but they are also proper for Dying and have much more excellent success in Physick where their Vertues are infinite c. No Product in Nature is useless but the very meanest has its
necessary Properties and those which seem the most abject and venomous even the greatest Poisons have admirable Effects in Medicines when duly prepared and this the Professors of Physick are not unacquainted withal tho' very many pretend to those Studies whose Endeavours are far short of handing them through the secret Excellencies thereof CHAP. CCXIX. How to Extract Lake from Broom-Flowers WE will give several ways of making Lakes of several Colours The first with a Lixivium or Lee made of Soda of the Glass-house and fresh Quick-lime which must be pretty strong in which put your Broom-Flowers over a small Fire until all the Tincture be drawn from them the Flowers become White and the Lee receive the Yellow Colour Then take out the Flowers and put the Lixivium into a glazed Earthen Vessel to boil adding thereto as much Roch-Allom as it can well dissolve then take it off and put it into a large Vessel mixing it with fair Water so the Yellow will separate and descend to the bottom let it rest there a little and afterwards decant the Water off gently and so put in more fresh to it again and again until the Water has drawn off all the Salt and Allom from the Lixivium and it become clear Thus the Colour will be very well cleansed of the Salt and Allom and remain exceeding fine and bright spread it on pieces of White Linen and let it dry in the Shade on new-baked Tiles and you 'll have a most admirable Yellow-Lake for Painting CHAP. CCXX To Extract the Tincture of Poppies Iris or Flower-de-luce Red-Roses Violets and all sorts of GreenHerbs for making Lake of their Colour TO avoid unnecessary Repetitions we have thought fit to bring all these under one Chapter because the Method for extracting their Colours is the same in one as in t'other and done with the former Lixivium of Soda and Quick-Lime You must steep and boil each sort of Flowers or Herbs by themselves in the Lixivium giving it time to draw off the Colour entirely which you 'll soon perceive when the Faeces or Flowers grow white and the Lixivium deepened with the Tincture then pour off the Lixivium gently into your Earthen glazed Vessels and set them over a Fire putting in as soon as they begin to boil as much Roch-Allom as they can well dissolve and so take them off After this pour all together into a large Earthen Vessel glazed and pour into it fair Water to make the Colour precipitate let it stand and settle then pour off the Water and put in fresh and thus continue to change the Water until it pour off as clear as you put it in and taste flat or insipid so as you may conclude all the Soda Salt of Alom and Lime are drawn off Thus you 'll have at the bottom a very fine Tincture to make a pure and delicate Lake withal of the same Colour as your Flowers or Herbs that were used spread it on pieces of Linen dry them in the Shade on new-baked Tiles as before After the same manner you may draw any other Lake from whatsoever colour'd Herb or Flower you please CHAP. CCXXI Another Way to Extract the Tincture of Yellow Flowers of Field-Poppies Irises ordinary and deep coloured Violets Carnation and Red-Rose BorrageFlowers Red-Coleworts Flags c. Together with the Verditers of Mallows Burnet and other Herbs WE shall not give the same in this as in the foregoing Chapter that Preparation is common to all those in the Title thereof and so is this to these To avoid Prolixity and Repetitions You must have the Flowers or Herbs newly gathered fresh enough to stain a Card with their Juice pressed thereon else they 'll not serve your turn put these into a Glass Cucurbit with a pretty large Mouth pour in among them good strong-Strong-Waters to drown them by four Inches joyn a Recipient to it and lute the Joints very well letting them dry this done place the Alembick on a Sand Furnace keeping a very gentle Fire under it giving the Matter time to digest increasing it by very little and little and so the Strong-waters will rise on the Leaves and draw off the Colour then improve your Fire to distil your tinged Strong-waters into the Recipient out of which you must take and put them into another Alembick luting well the Jointures and let it distil in Balneo or over a very slow Ash-Fire and the Strong-water will distil off in their own Colour without any Tincture and may be kept for the like occasion again The Essence you 'll have at the bottom of the Cucurbit let it dry gently Thus you may have Lakes from all manner of Herbs and Flowers whatsoever CHAP. CCXXII To make a Scarlet-colour'd Lake THE Design of this Chapter is only to order the first Preparation for obtaining our Scarlet-colour whereof we will make a very delicate Lake Take Shearings of White Woollen-Drapery let them be fine as possible steep them a whole Day in cold Water press them afterwards very well to take off all the Greasiness and Allume it thus Put four Ounces of Roch-Allom and two Ounces of Crude Tartar in Powders into a small Kettle pouring thereon two Quarts of Water when this begins to boil put to them one pound of the Shearings and so let it boil a full Half-hour afterwards take it off and cool it for six Hours take out the Shearings and wash them in clean Water leave 'em to steep about two Hours press them after this and dry them keeping them for the use we shall prescribe in the next Chapter CHAP. CCXXIII. To Extract Scarlet-colour from Kerm-Berries for making a Fine Lake THE Name of Kermes is purely Arabick for in that Country these Berries grow on a small Tree or Shrub and from that their Native Soil were transplanted into Spain Portugal Provence and Languedoc where they now are plentiful several would perswade us that 't is a sort of Oak called in Latin Coccigera but the Leaves which are prickled like those on Holly only smaller shews us the contrary These Grains or Berries have several other uses than in Painting being of excellent Vertue in Physick Of them the Apothecaries make their Syrop called Alkermes and from the remainder of them which is left behind in the Strainer they draw a substance for the Dyers which is used in colouring of Stuffs Several ways may be given to extract the Tincture of these Grains for making Lake we 'll only insist on two the first is indifferent long but very excellent and produces a Tincture whereby iâ— made a most admirable fine Lake The way of making the Lake in France is very modern and 't is but of late they have had this Secret in Paris which was brought from Venice now since few are familiar with it we are willing to publish this that many may know how to Worâ— therein Take four Quarts of clear Water and four Pound of Wheaten-Bran two Drams of Oriental Piraster and as much Foenugrec
altering colour â—nd comes from Persia and the greater I dies it is â—â—so supposed it may be had from Africk as well as â—sia but questionless there does not come that â—enty thence as from the other places There is also found in Germany and Hungary a kind of Lapis-Lazuli but not fixt tho as hard as the former they call it Lesurstein and its colour Asurbleau but its colour changes in some time and becomes Greenish 't is used however by Painters The sixt Lapis-Lazuli has great Vertues in Physick and much more excellent ones than are ascribed to it by most Persons who indeed are ignorant of them and so are many of the Learned too but we 'll pass these over here and reserve them for another time in some other place This hint however may serve to advise the Curious to pry into the Matter and possibly discover its further Excellencies and Vertue 'T is called Vltra-marine because brought to us from beyond Sea or rather because the first thaâ— ever came into France was out of the Kingdom oâ— Cyprus a Maritime Country for so are those Countries called which border on the Sea-Coasts Before you proceed to Extract your Vltra-marine take some account of the Manner to know whetheâ— the Stone be good for unless it is singularly so you'â—â— lose your labour Put pieces thereof on live Coalâ— and blow them continually for an Hour if they râ—tain their first hardness and colour afterwards yoâ— may conclude them good but if they crumble bâ—tween your Fingers they are naught It may 〈◊〉 tried otherwise in an Iron-Ladle put into a Furnaâ—â— with some of the Stone to heat and so quench itâ— strong Vinegar if the Colour remains still unchaâ—â—ged and splendid you may assure your self ' â— good When you have made this Tryal calcine 〈◊〉 which to do the easier break the stone to piecâ— as small Hazel-Nuts wash them afterwards in waâ—â— Water and set them in a Crucible on a Winâ— Furnace or into an Iron-Ladle to re-unite thâ— cast them into a glazed Earthen Vessel of distilled Vinegar to quench them in do thus seven times to prepare them by Calcination for Powdering and to prevent their sticking to the Mortar Thus calcined dry 'em well and so powder them in a Stone-Mortar well cover'd and accordingly searce it with the same caution as Perfumers do their most delicate and finest Powders lest the best should go off and dispel its self in the Air And thus preserve this precious Powder with all imaginable care CHAP. CCXXVIII To make a Liquid for Moistning and Grinding the Powder withal c. T IS impossible to give all the Preparations for the Lapis-Lazuli in one Chapter they are too â—edious for that purpose and can't be so confined without Confusion this we intimate to justifie our â—ivision thereof into several Chapters For moistening and grinding your aforesaid Powâ—er of the Stone take a Pound and half of running â—ater and put this into a new Earthen-Pot add 〈◊〉 it an Egg-shell full of raw Honey boil it until it â—ave no more Scum take the Pot off and keep this â—ydromel or Liquid for use in Bottles as we shall â—ve occasion for hereafter This done take four Scruples of the best Gumâ—ragon grind it on your Marble with some of the â—ydromel and then put it into a Glass add thereto 〈◊〉 much Hydromel as you find convenient to bring it 〈◊〉 a Violet-colour so cover it and preserve it for 〈◊〉 This Liquid is good for your Powder of Lapis-Lazuli if the Colour be too Violet add the less hereof if otherwise the more as your Judgment or Experience shall direct Put half a Pound of Powder at a time into a small Porphyry or Marble Vessel the larger the Mortar the worse for you 'll lose more and be longer a grinding pour leisurely by little and little thereon some of your Violet Liquid grind these together for a full Hour still wetting it you may use three or four Ounces of Liquid to the half Pound of Powder and you 'll have it very good you must take care of grinding it too long for then it will lose its colour When 't is thus ground dry it on a Marble or Flat-stone where the Sun does not come at all cover it well to preserve it from Dust when 't is dry 't will Powder easily between your Fingers if it be rightly done if so let it alone on the Marble but if it be clammy or stick take it off for it has still some unctuosity of the Honey in it which must be cleansed away by a Cement Your Lapis being thus dry wash it well before you put it to the Cement for which you must use a glazed Earthen Bason round above like a Barber 's and well glazed within put your Lapis therein and pour thereon some of the mild Lixivium in the next Chapter as much as will rise above the Surface four Inches wash the Lapis very well with your Hands and then let it settle and 't will precipitate The Liquid being clear'd again decant it into a large Copper or Earthen-Vessel then let the Lapis dry in a Shade in the same Vessel 't was washed in and spread it afterwards on the flat Marble or Porphyry and there let it lie until quite dry Thus 't is prepared for mixing with the Cement of which we will give the Preparation in Chap. 231. and those next succeeding it CHAP. CCXXIX To prepare a mild and a strong Lixivium for the Lapis-Lazuli WE have promised to give this Preparation here and the manner of making hereof which we will shew together with another stronger to wash the Lapis withal when 't is mixt with the Cement as hereafter directed To make these Lixiviums take ten handfuls of Vine-stalk-Ashes well searced put this into a large Vessel that will hold thirty Pound of Water with a Faucet at bottom press the Ashes very well and put to them twenty Pound of warm Water when 't is sunk to the bottom open the Faucet so as it may only drop into an Earthen-Vessel when 't is all come out stop the hole and strain this Lixivium through a Felt Strainer and so keep it in a Glass or glazed Pot well covered This is the strong Lixivium Again pour in on the same Ashes the like quantity of warm Water and do as before so you 'll have an indifferent strong Lixivium which keep as the former Do this a third time and you 'll have the mild Lixivium mentioned in the preceding Chapter These three are very useful both for moistening and to draw the Powder of Lapis-Lazuli from the Cement wherewith it must be mixed as we shall shew in the succeeding Chapters which Separation being sometimes hard to perform we are obliged to have recourse to these Varieties of Lixiviums stronger or weaker as we find them convenient for the purpose You may yet make another Lixivium to take away the greasiness of the Cement thus Boil Calx of Tartar as much
as you please in clean Water for about a quarter of an Hour and keep it for use as the former This is excellent for washing the Lapis-Lazuli with it strengthens and improves the colour thereof is good for the Itch Scurvey c. and to take away the Witherings in the Fair Sex CHAP. CCXXX The Form of the Glasses for preserving the Liquids in which are employed on the Lapis-Lazuli THERE always remains some of your colour in the Waters or Lixiviums wherein the Lâ—â—â—s-Lazuli is prepared throughout all the Process you must therefore have a very large Vessel of Braâ—â— or Earthen-Ware glazed and polished very well at bottom wherein must be three Holes one in the middle of the side the next a little lower and the last about two Inches from the bottem stop these Holes without-side very close to prevent leakage Then pour all your Waters into this tho you then perceive no colour at all yet after ten Days you 'll have it at bottom whither it will descend gently and to get it you must go artificially to work first opening the first Cock or Hole and let out the Water above that before you open the other two and thus you may get the colour without muddying or losing any by the Waters which mix with the rest CHAP. CCXXXI To make strong Cement to mix with Lapis-Lazuli to separate the finer and better Stuff from the other ONE cannot so easily part the finer Lapis-Lazuli from its grosser parts without making use of this Cement to unbind the parts Take four Ounces of very pure and clear Venice-Turpentine six Ounces of Rosin of the Pine six Ounces of Grecian-Pitch three Ounces of very good Mastick three Ounces of fresh Wax an Ounce and half of Linseed-Oyl cleansed as shall be directed in Chap. 233. Put the Turpentine into a new glazed Earthen-Pot very clean to dissolve over a slow Charcoal-Fire and continue stirring it with a Wooden-Spatula throw into this by degrees the Rosin of the Pine in small pieces and stir it still very well thus put in successively the Pitch the Mastick in Powder and last of all the Wax sliced small stirring all continually about to mix and incorporate Take great care of your Fire least the Cement should blaze or burn all the Ingredients being hot of themselves and combustible Having well incorporated them pour in the Linseed-Oyl stirring it as before and so let it boil gently for a Quarter of an Hour To try whether the Cement be enough drop some of it off the Spatula into a Vessel of cold Water if it spread 't is not enough but if it do not 't is sufficiently boil'd so take it off Or else you may wet your Fingers and take a drop thereof roul and draw it out in length if it snaps and breaks of it self 't is a sign that 't is enough take it off and pour it boiling hot into an Hypocrass-Bag steeped before in hot Water take care to let it go all through into a Vessel of cold Water and for the better security squeeze it along from top to bottom with two flat Sticks that none may remain in your Bag afterwards work it well with your Hands till all the Water be drained from it and because being hot it may stick to your Fingers you may anoint them with some of the Linseed-Oyl The Cement being thus prepared keep it in a Vessel of cold Water shifting your Water every Day or every second Day and by this Method you may keep it for ten Years CHAP. CCXXXII To make a weaker Cement for separating the Colours of Lapis-Lazuli THIS second Cement which is the softer and milder ought to be first employed on the Powder of Lapis-Lazuli it draws the colour much quicker and better than the strong Cement which ought not to be used till after the milder the whole Secret of separating the Colours consisting in using the Cements for without a due care hereof it cannot be done perfect To make this Cement you must take four Ounces of very pure Turpentine four Ounces of Rosin of Pine six Ounces of Grecian-Pitch one Ounce of fresh Wax six Drams of Linseed-Oyl purified mix and incorporate them successively as before observe only that this is sooner done than the former because 't is weaker and will give the colour soonest therefore you must manage accordingly CHAP. CCXXXIII To purifie Linseed-Oyl THE use we have for Linseed-Oyl in our Cement obliges us to give this Preparation and way of purifying it as we promised whereby 't is made more fit for our purpose Take good and clear Linseed-Oyl of the colour of Saffron and put it into a Glass shaped like an Oxe-horn with an Hole at bottom to let out the Water which you must mix with the Oyl letting them settle until the Oyl rises all upmost then open the Hole and let the Water out and the Oyl remain behind then shake the Oyl again with more fresh Water let it settle and the Water run out as before do thus eight or ten times till the Water comes out as clear as it went in and so the Oyl will be pure and fit for your use keep it well stopt in a Glass-Bottle If you can't get Linseed-Oyl you may use Oyl of Bitter-Almonds without purifying for it needs none but take notice the Linseed-Oyl is best of any tho cheaper than t'other CHAP. CCXXXIV How to incorporate the Powder of Lapis-Lazuli with the strong or weaker Cement WE have given in Chap. 228. the way to prepare the Powder for mixing with the Cement to extract the Colours we now come to shew how to mix it with the Cement in order to extract the Vltra-marine from them for Painting Take a Pound of the Powder and the like quantity of Cement assigned in Chap. 231. observing always to take the first that was workt with the Hands cut the Cement small and the pieces being a little wet put them into a glazed Earthen-Pot over a Fire of red-hot Ashes to melt and take care it does not boil if it should you must prevent the the damage which it might cause by putting in some Linseed-Oyl The Cement being thus melted anoint all your Spatula over from the Handle downwards with the same Oyl and so put in the Powder by very little quantities and taking a great deal of time that they may the better incorporate and be sure to stir it all the while very well with the Spatula so as to make it all alike until it become like an Oyntment or Salve then off with the Pot and throw the Stuff boiling hot into an Earthen-Bason of cold Water and at that very instant take off all that sticks to the sides of the Pot when 't is cold enough to be handled if it appears well coloured 't is a sign you have work'd it well This done rub your Hand with Linseed-Oyl and work it as they do a Paste of Bread or Dough for one Hour that it may be throughly compact The longer
Leather-Bags tie these close rubbing and pressing them with your Hands this will make them very subtile and when the Bags are opened they 'll shew much fairer than before CHAP. CCXXXVIII To Correct the Colours just before prepared FEW Persons unless such as are very curious of their Work make any use hereof because of the time it takes up tho it would turn very much to their account for one Ounce of this Colour corrected will go farther than three that are not If you would make your Colours just before prepared much finer and effectual than they are mix them again with a strong Cement and let them remain therein for three Days afterwards proceed according to the last directions to separate them again reiterate this over again and you 'll have them exceeding good and tho they diminish somewhat in weight yet that Loss will be repayed considerably in the Beauty and Value CHAP. CCXXXIX Another Way to make Ultra-marine and draw off the Colours with more Expedition THIS Method of making Vltra-marine is much more ready than the former and Experience will shew whether the Colour be a gainer or loser thereby Take a Pound of Lapis Lazuli calcine it in a Crucible and quench it afterwards in Vinegar so let it dry and then reduce it to a very fine Powder grind it on a Porphyry with fair Water and so set it in a glazed Earthen Vessel in the Shade until it be dry if you find it coagulated all in a Mass you must Powder it again This done make a Cement of three Ounces of Grecian-Pitch four Ounces of Rosin of the Pine three Ounces of Mastick three Ounces of Frankincense two Ounces of Oyl-Olive set these over a slow Fire in a small Earthen Pot into which pour first the Oyl and when that 's hot put in the Rosin then the Pitch then the Incense and last of all the Mastick stirring them continually with the Wooden Spatula and let them boil a little Having made the Cement get another Earthen Vessel and put thereinto the Lapis Lazuli and pour on it the Cement hot stirring the whole together with the Spatula very leisurely until they perfectly incorporate let this stand a whole Day and when you would draw off the Colours pour thereon boiling Water stirring it very smartly When it begins to cool pour it out and so put in more hot Water do thus till the Water begins to draw off the Colour and so continue until it be quite extracted you may distinguish the Waters and so set them apart and obtain the Variety of Colour as in the former way If your Colour seems to be clammy or nasty you may correct it thus Add thereto Tartar dissolved in Water as much as will drown it and let it repose for one Day at least so wash it in warm Water and you will by that means have it very correct and well purified CHAP. CCXL Another Way to make Ultra-marine GRANTING the two former ways to be sufficient we will however here give a third which we believe may as well be pleasing to those who are not satisfied with the other as to such Persons as have a Curiosity for these sorts of Work and thus we propose to proceed Not to discourse of the Ways to try the goodness of the Lapis Lazuli which we have mentioned sufficiently already you must break it into gross pieces as small as Nuts then set these in a Crucible into the Furnace till they redden with heat and so cast them into cold Water do thus six or seven times and so reduce them to impalpable Powder in a Porphyry-Mortar well covered over lest the Powder which is very subtile should disperse away into the Air and then searce it with a fine Searce also covered After this take of Rosin of Pines ordinary black Pitch Mastick fresh Wax and Turpentine of each three Ounces of Incense and Linseed-Oyl each one Ounce melt all together in an Earthen Vessel stirring them very well that they may mix this Stuff being well incorporated cast it into Water and keep it for use To each Pound of Lapis Lazuli add ten Ounces thereof and set them to dissolve in a Pot over a small Fire first melting the Cement and then casting on the Lapis Lazuli by little and little observing such an order in this and continually stirring the Mass with a Stick that they may mix insensibly together afterwards cast the Mass into an Earthen Vessel of cold Water and anointing your Hands with Linseed-Oyl mould it up into a number of Cakes or Rolls which leave in cold Water for five Days shifting the Water every other Day This done put them into a large and very clean glazed Earthen Vessel pouring on them some clean hot Water when that cools pour in more hot and do thus till the Pastils soften with the heat of the Water This done put them into hot Water and let them be until it receive a Bluish colour strain this Water to reserve the grosser pieces and so put it into another glazed Earthen Vessel very clean adding more to the Pastils which strain through a fine Searce afterwards among the former continue this until all the Colour be extracted and no more remain behind Your Water must be only warm otherwise it will occasion a Blackness in the Colour which is to be taken care of and imports very much All your coloured Waters being in the Vessel you may cleanse them of any Unctuosity by reposing them for twenty four Hours in which time the Coâ—our will stick to the bottom then you may pour off â—he Water gently into another Vessel and it will carry off the Grease along with it strain it afterwards into the Vessel where the Colour is again through a fine Searce and all the Grease and Nastiâ—ess will be left behind do thus thrice stirring the Colour very well every time you return the Water â—o it that the Filth and Grease may ascend from it â—nd it will always stay in straining on the Searce beâ—ind the Water This done let the Colour precipitate entirely â—nd so pour off all the Water very leisurely for fear â—f disturbing it dry this Colour and you 'll have â—elicate Vltra-marine If you would imitate this Colour at little charge make use of our Blue-Enamel after the same manner and instead of the Lapis Lazuli observing without exception the like Regimen and Prescription just now delivered in every respect and by this means you 'll have a very pretty agreeable Colour to Paint with and for tinging of Glass Many other Ways might be given here for making Vltra-marine besides these we have already laid down but because the principal part of the Preparation is in every one the same we look upon these as sufficient and that it would be but needless to repeat any more That the Lapis Lazuli may be made by Art as fine and good as the Natural which is gotten from the Mines we allow and should freely
make the Counterfeits finer and harder and we are persuaded that the Preparation of those we shall assign will appear so easie and yet produce such fine Imitations as shall be very satisfactory CHAP. CCXLIII To imitate fine Oriental Pearl THE Difference between those which are at present wore by the Ladies and such as we shall prescribe as to the Goodness Hardness and Fineness of the Stuff we have already endeavoured to clear But before we proceed any further take these remaining Parts of the Furnace in Chap. 52. The Letter O is the Balneum Mariae P The Vessel for containing the Sand or Ash-Fire Q The Eyes or Holes of the Furnace R Their Cover which when they are set on draw in the Air and increase the Heat for Fusion the others are Crucibles We did also intend to give the Description of another Furnace at the close of the Fifth Book as well for the Service of the Matters in that as the Sixth Book You may however take it along with you here A is the Ash-hole you may add to it an Hovel for sucking in the Air which must be luted to it very firmly B is the Inside where the Ashes fall into this ought to be lofty for drawing the Air. C is the Grate and must be of very strong Iron Bars D is the Opening through which the Crucibles and Fuel is put in this ought to be of well tempered Iron and luted within side with very good Lute at least three Inches thick E is the Chamber where the Works are Baked F is the Coverlid of the Furnace which is to be Vaulted firm and made of the same Earth G is the Chimney over which you may set several Iron Plates one above t'other for drawing the Air. H is the Hovel or shelving place of Iron for the Ash-Hole I are Funnels for the Chimney Plates and the Hovel K is a Crucible If this Furnace be made five or six Inches thick it will bear all degrees of heat and serve very conveniently for Private Persons by making it of a suitable largeness instead of the Glass-house Furnace When you make your Fire of Wood there will be no occasion for the Hovel of the Ash-hole But to go on with our Pearl You must take two Pound of thrice distilled Vinegar one Pound of Venice Turpentine mix them together and so put the Mass into a Glass Cucurbit fit to it the Head and Receiver luting the Joynts let them dry and so set it on a Sand-Furnace to distil the Vinegar keep a gentle heat lest the Stuff swell up Afterwards put the Vinegar into another Glass-Cucurbit wherein you must hang a quantity at discretion of Seed Pearl strung on a Thread of Silver or Gold done about with a piece of very thin Silk these must hang in the middle of the Body so as not to touch the Vinegar This done head your Cucurbit with a Blind Head and lute it very well set it in a moderate B. Mariae well closed there to remain for a Fortnight the heat of the B. will elevate the Fumes of your Vinegar and they 'll continually circulate about the Pearl and so soften and bring them to the Consistence of a Paste which being once performed take 'em off and mould them up in what Form you please round long or Peaalike and as big as you think fit do this with Moulds of fine Plate gilded within you must not touch the Paste at all with your Hands but altogether Work it with a Plate Spatula which will fill the Moulds then bore them through with a Porkers Bristle or Gold-Wire and so let them dry a little then Thread them again with Gold-Wire and set them in a closed Glass which lay in the Sun to dry them to a hardness set them afterwards in a Glass Matrass in a Stream of Running Water leaving it there for twenty Days and about that time they assume their first solidity and hardness To give them Transparency and Splendour you must prepare some Mercury-Water after the Rate we shall prescribe in the next Chapter When you have taken them out of the last Matrass wherein they were for twenty Days as the Running Water hang them in a Vessel of Glass where the Mercury-Water is and so they 'll moisten swell and assume their Oriental Beauty This done shift them out of this Water into a Matrass closed Hermetically for fear that any Water should be admitted into it and so down with it into a Well leaving it there for eight whole Days then draw it up open the Matrass and you 'll have them as fine and good as any Oriental Pearls whatsoever This Method is a little long but withal 't is effectual and sure however 't is not thus the Philosophers or Virtuosi Work for they have another Way much shorter having regard only to one Spirit nor have I Experience enough in their Matters to make a Discovery thereof and if I had it cou'd not be done without disobliging them irreconcilably therefore take what I have delivered on this Important Subject in good part and be assured that if you were acquainted with that Secret which they so closely reserve there could be nothing done more by it as to Goodness and Beauty in this Work than by our prescribed Method which is very estimable and more precious than you 'll imagine whereof I can assign you no better or other Argument than Experience to convince you CHAP. CCXLIV To make Mercury-Water for giving Transparency and Splendour to the Pearls HAVING promised this Secret of making Mercury-Water to compleat the Transparency and Natural Lustre of your Pearls which is a Matter so highly valuable that a very considerable Sum has been offered in our Presence for the Discovery thereof to a certain Person yet we are free that Experience should have its due course of informing the Ignorant and shall for our part generously acquit our Engagement You must take Plate Tin of Cornwall calcined let the Calx be very fine and pure amalgamate one Ounce thereof with two Ounces of prepared Mercury well purified wash the Amalgama with Water until the Water remains clear and insipid then drying the Amalgama throughly put it into a Matrass over a Furnace keeping such a degree of heat as is required for Sublimation when the Matter is well Sublimated take off the Matrass and let it cool and so take out the Sublimate to which add one Ounce of Venice Sublimate and grind them well together on a Marble so put them into another Matrass close it very well and set it topsy-turvy in a Pail of Water and the whole Mass will resolve its self in a little time all into Mercury-Water This done filter it into a Glass Receiver and set it on a gentle Ash-Fire to coagulate and it will be brought to a Crystalline Mass take it 〈◊〉 and with a Glass Pestle and Mortar pound it very well to a very fine Powder which searce through a fine Searce and put it into
of Nobility as the former These having setled at St. Gobin near La Fere did by Letters Patent of February 1693. obtain Exemption from the Tailles or Subsidy on the Third Estate which is a constant Tax and other Impositions as well for themselves as their Deputies and Servants And to avoid all Contest these two Manufactures were united by Order of the Council of State April 19. 1695. and Confirmed May 1. following under the Name of Francis Plaistrier Now for making these Glasses the same Crystal assigned throughout Book 1. is sufficient the Difference is only instead of Working it as you do there to cast it flat and not blow as in Chap. 3. to which we refer the Reader The Manner of Casting the Metal did not commence with the Invention of Looking-glass for the Workmen at first used to take a piece of Metal very large clipt and done on the Marble into Quarries as big as they 'd have them these they set afterwards on a Pallet of Iron in the Furnace till they were in a Fusion and so spread and united hence they took and put them into another little Furnace for that purpose S. S. S. with fine searced Ashes to Bake this done they raised the Fire by degrees and so let it go out again and drew off the Glasses working them after our manner in the next Chapter Thus too they wrought their little Round Glasses or Mirrours first shaping them out of a long piece of Metal by Circumvolution and afterwards clipping them as the former so finished them in the Furnaces and made them fit for Polishing Since that time having attempted to make them very large they fell upon the Way of Casting the Glass like other Metal on Sand Beds such as the Founders use and to perform it the better they have a Roller of Metal to run over the Surface of the Glass Metal for enlarging the Plate and to smooth and compact it withal For such as would make them very large indeed as are wrought at Muran near Venice and in our Royal Manufacturers they had a much better and easier Method than doing them on Sand viz. in large Tables of well polished Copper whereon they cast the Metal but these not having strength enough to abide the Heat we have since made use of Iron which will sufficiently perform the Effect These Tables whereon the Glasses are at first sight Cast to their proper Largeness must have their bottom sunk as low as you intend the Thickness of your Glass-Plate and have a Conveniency to push it out as soon as ever 't is prepared thereon Some make use of Marble ones with Covers over which they have a Plate or Runner of Metal to slide and press it on the Glass Metal that the Glass Plate may be the more compact and even Thus are large Glasses made which are no less surprizing than pretty and 't is a very considerable Improvement they are brought to at this Day of making them so extraordinary large for Mirrours One would admire to what Perfection the Wit of Man may arrive at and is capable of bearing from the advantage of Serious Application and Study in profound Matters CHAP. CCLII To Grind Polish and Cut the Looking-Glass AFTER you have it from the Furnace you must lay it on Sand in a convenient place to strengthen else it will break in Working it then grind it on very fine Sand and Water This time 't is that the Workmen give it the first Fashioning then they do it over again with Powder of Emery instead of the Sand and so give â—t a second Improvement when they have done it enough with these two they do it a third time with Tripoly instead of Emery this Polishes the Glass perfectly others give these Glasses a fourth Process with Calx of Tin to bring them to a very extraordinary Lustre and Polish The Diamond-Cut is done by Grinding the Cryâ—tal on Drift Sand and Water as much as you think â—onvenient These are the several Methods for finishing the â—ooking-glass all to the Silvering which must be disposed thereon as in the next Chapter before it â—as the Quality of a Mirrour CHAP. CCLIII To File or Silver the Looking-Glass THE Glass is not perfected till it be Silvered for without that it is impossible it should distinctly shew the opposite Objects 't is the Filing or Silvering therefore which gives it its just Perfection For this you must have a firm well smooth'd Table much greater than the Glass whereon spread one or more Sheets of very fine Tin let them be as thin as Paper and so prepared as not to have any Rumple Furrow or Spot else the Glass will be spoil'd Over these Sheets spread good Mercury quite covering them with it when the Mercury has soaked in well place the Glass thereon and it will stick to them then turn it and spread Sheets oâ— Paper on the Filing press it gently smoothing anâ— stroaking it with your Hands to take off the Superfluous Mercury then dry it in the Sun or by a sofâ— Fire and it will become perfect But because 't is not so easie to file the Large Glasses as the small you must have recourse to a Table for the purpose with a Diamond-Cut rising Border to keep the Sides of the Glass firm whereon yoâ— must lay it with the Backside which is to be filed upwards then lay on the Sheeted Tin very smooth and closely over these the Mercury to dissolve themâ— then with the Sheets of Paper cover all and 〈◊〉 smooth and run it over with your Hands to take away the Surplus of the Mercury and so dry it 〈◊〉 before The rest of the Work depends on the Framing them and giving the suitable Ornaments accordingly CHAP. CCLIV How to make Spherical Concaves and Convex Glasses commonly called Burning Mirrours BEFORE we discourse of the Metal Mirrours we will shew how to do such of Glass The Use of these Glasses is to unite the Sun-Beams and so kindle a Flambeau Wood or any other Combustible Matter By them Metals also may be dissolved in a little time as easily as in a Crucible on a Furnace or at a Forge The Whole Mystery of making them is to have the Moulds of a Round Shape otherwise they have but a very weak Effect on the Sun Beams the Moulds must be so exactly made as neither side shall differ from the other To make the Concave Glass you must have the Mould Convex and the Convexity thereof must be made by a Sphere according as you have it greater or less and 't is from this Sphere the Convexity of the Mirrour must be taken As for instance Take a Sphere of what bigness you please divide it equally and also one of the Hemispheres in three equal parts by Planes parallel to the great Circle the Convex Segment shall then be the sixth part of the whole Sphere and the Measure of your Mirrour To do this you may have recourse to the Works of Archimedes Iohn