We do fuftain, I cannot easily be in reft fatisfied with the Difpenfations Q. What is your Opinion in refpect to the Salvation of a Hea then, who has made a good use of A. We are inclined to believe he will not be condemned for not believing the Gospel which he never heard fpeak of, or adjudged to future Mifery, if he has made a good ufe of thofe Lights God has given him. Nor do we think we thou'd do amifs, to conclude, either that God might make him partake of the Benefits of the Death of Jefus Chrift, who by an extraordinary Grace might will the Salvation of fome of those who have not known him, not through their own Fault, but becaufe the Gospel was never preached unto them, or that God might reveal the Gofpet to them by fome uncotrimon Method, as he did to Cornelius the Centurion. QI must beg your Favour in this Cafe: It has been my Fortune to feat my felf over against a particular young Lady at Church, which Lady ogles extremely at me, and I do not doubt but that fhe bas a very confiderable Fortune by her appearance, for fhe has her Black to wait upon her. Gentle men, I being of a Handycraft Trade, I dare not prefume without your affiftance in this Cafe; therefore I beg of you to be anfwer'd as foon as you can, with convenience; if fo be it takes effet, I will not be in the leaft ungrateful. A. Take Courage, Man, the Work's near done, the's half yours already; but before we are too confident, we muft ask one civil Queftion, whether you are not purblind, and fo might attribute thofe Looks to your felf which were only directed to the Minister? For a great deal depends upon thefe kind Glances. But if you are not deceived, the Daughter being thus gain'd, you must act honourably to credit her Choice'; vifit the FaEther, and tell him how much the loves you, and that you are very willing to accept of her, to keep her from Bedlam, which is a common Piece of Generofity; that you can like her Money as well as The can your Person; and that if She'll commit her to your Care, you'll make a very civil fort of a Husband: If all this won't do, he muft fure be a very untreatable Man; and if he won't make his Daughter happy,who can force him? Q. Ibeing an Apprentice, and my Friends having not where withal to maintain me with Cloaths, and other Neceffaries, in the time of my Service, I made bold with fome of my Master's Goods to buy Neceffaries, and I always kept a just Account of what I had, and it amounted to more than I can prefently pay. N Now my time being expired, and I am in a good way for my felf, I hope in a year or two to make Retaliation; but this very thing kept me from receiving the Holy Sacrament, and I never could do it through the Confideration of it. I know what I am indebted, and do defign to make Reftitution fo foon as I am able. I defire your Opinion, whether I may not receive the Sacrament without asking Forgiveness, and before I make Retaliation, being at preSent much diffatisfied about it? I pray your Answer as soon as your Conveniency will permit. no A. You did very wickedly in thus converting the Goods of your Mafter to your own ufe, altho' at the fame time you intended n real Robbery, but to reftore bim the full value as foon as you should be in a Capacity to do it, fince you were not affured you shou'd either be able, or live to repay him; befides the other Inconveniencies you might both have run your self, or Mafter, into by it: This you ought to be fenfible of, and forry for. But fince the acquainting your Mafter will not be any fatisfaction to him, and you are now under a probability of being able to restore what you have defrauded him of, and refolving fo to do as foon as poffible, we think you need not keep from the Sacrament upon that account. Yet you must remember not only to repay what you have taken from him, but likewife fatisfie for any Damages that he received by it; and till this is done, you ought to forbear all unneceffaly Expences. Q. You have given us some Account of Silver, of its Nature and Place of Growth; but I don't remember the having read any thing in your Oracles concerning thefe other Metals; therefore Fdefire you'd give a foort Relation of the Names, Nature, and Places from whence Gold, Tin, and Lead are taken? Mercurial and Arfenick Steams in a wonderful manner; for if Gold be held in the Mouth, and Mercu ry toucht but with the Foot or Toe, the Gold will foon turn white. But 'tis not good to be too bold with fuch Experiments, for fear of the Palfic. Some who have taken many Mercurial Medicines, have, to extract what they A. The Chymifts tell us all Metals are fuperficially the fame, only their two great Principles of Conftitution, Sulphur, which has more of the Earth and Quick-cou'd of them, to prevent their filver, which is more congeneal to mischievous Confequences, every Water; according to the feveral day taken gold Pills, which have Combinations of thefe in quantity been changed white, tho' taken and quality, and their different many Years after the Mercury. purity, give the various differen- And 'tis faid of Dr. Butler, that ces which we call the kinds of he convinced Dr. Mayern that Metals. Gold, whofe Chymical Prince Henry had been poifon'd, Name is Sol, is faid to be of the by putting a Piece of Gold into moft pure and beft prepared Mate the Mouth of the Corps, which he rials, wherefore it has many Attri- let remain but a little time; and butes exceeding other Metals; as when he took it out, it was chanin its Value, which if pure in the ged white. It is alfo Medicinal Refiner's Fire, lofeth none of its and Cordial; for Pills gilt draw Weight; and if allayed with bafer venemous Steams from the princiMetal, fuch as Silver or Copper, pal Parts to the Bowels, where it lofes but equal to the quantity mixing with the Medicine, they of this Allay, and in its Weight, are carried off with it. It helps in which is the greatest for its bulk of the King's Evil, by repelling and any Metal; as alfo its duration, diffipating the Humours, and hinwhich is fuppofed perpetual, and dring them from flowing fafter in Scripture is called corruptible, than Nature can fubdue them. It not in refpect to its Nature but is found in Barbary in the Sand, Poffeffion. It never rufts, nor wafhed from the Mountains into confumes with often melting: the Rivers; and in the South-Weft 'Tis true 'tis diffolvable by Aqua of America, it is dug out of Mines Regis; but then 'tis only broken by the Spaniards Slaves. in finall Pieces, and the Duft of it Alchymift tells us 'tis the Soul of all precipitated and collected, may be Metals, and extractable in a fmall melted, and again caft into a Mafs quantity from each; and when feof the fame weight and value as parated from them, they remain before: Quick-filver will change brittle, droffy, and good for noit's Colour, and make it brittle, thing. Agreeable to this, there is but that's foon recover'd by the a Story of a Dutch Man, who Fire. It may likewife be exten- coming into the Tin House of an ded beyond all other Metals, and English Gentleman, and feeing a beaten fo thin as one Grain of it to good quantity melted in the cover a Foot-square. It attracts Trough, merrily asked the Work The men, men, what he fhou'd give them for as much Tin, as he cou'd take out with a littleWand he had in his hand? Who answer'd him, what he pleas'd. He then dipped his Wand in feveral times, and took off the Scales, and put them in his Pocket. Five Years after, this Dutch Man coming into England, prefented the Gentleman with a Gold Ring, and told him, 'twas the fame Metal he had taken up with his Wand: Upon which he call'd to Mind, that the whole Block of Tin was fpoil'd,and broke all to pieces when it came to be workt, and that the Work-men faid the Dutch Man had conjured it. Tin, by the Chymifts call'd Fupiter, is a fine white Metal, near the Colour of Silver; 'tis the lighteft of Metals, and fooneft melts, therefore fit for Solder, and of it felf more brittle than any; which or factitious of Silver, is uncertain. The Chymical Name of Lead is Saturn; this Metal is common in many Parts of the World: In England, 'tis particularly found in Darbyshire and Sommerfetfhire; 'tis heavier than any other Metal or Mineral, except Gold or Quickfilver, and therefore ufed in Bullets; 'tis alfo more tough and flexible, yet not extendible to Wire, as Silver, Steel, or Brafs ; like Gold 'tis medicinally used to repel Humours, being beaten into thin Plates; and because of this agreement with Gold in Weight and medical Ufe, fome have fuppofed it the fitteft Metal for Tranfmutation. The Canker of Lead by Vinegar is call'd Cerufe, the Flowers on Calcination is white Lead, which higher burnt is call'd Red Lead, much ufed in Plaifters. The Value of it is small, and therefore is the reason they mix Lead, andtis applied to fo many common Q. I defire your Advice concerning Melancholy: I am a Person of green Years, have always liv'd in a very sober, regular manner; endeavouring to avoid all fuch Actions as I thought evil: I know not any occafion I have to be troubled, in relation to any Temporal or Eternal Concern; jet my Mind is fometimes fo overcharged with that fad Distemper, that it dif relifnes my very Being, and I can fee nothing in the World fo much as to wifh for that I can imaginé, might render me more happy. If and by thefe Phenicians, in whole, could give me any light into and in the Hebrew Language, the the Caufe of this, or lay me down Name they call'd us by fignified a fome Rule of Life whereby I might Land of Tin. There is a kind of avoid it, you would do me the Tin in the East Indies, call'd Tu-greatest Charity in the World. tenage; but whether it be natural Kk A. If A. If you are really that happy Man you tell us you are, your Mind can have none, or but a little fhare in the Caufe of this Diftemper, but it muft depend chiefly upon your Body, therefore 'twill be very proper to confult a Phyfician; next to which,we know of nothing better than get ing into Company at fuch times, ufing all thofe Diverfions which are agreeable to you, and you muft ftrive, as much as poffible, against it; for fince it is habitual, you'll find the greater difficulty to remove it. upon the matter, in your next Oracle, to your bumble Servant, J. B. The Relation more at large you'll find in Elias Ahmole, bis Theatrum Chymicum Brittan. Lond. 1652. p. 481. A. We confels we know not well what to fay to many express Hiftories of Matter of Fact, of the fame nature. We know not how to believe 'em, and yet it feems hardly modeft in all cafes to disbelieve 'em: All we fay, to prevent Perfons being impos'd upon, is, that fome who pretend to underftand thefe matters very well, have afferted, that if this ftrange Elixir is to be got at all, it must be with fmall charges, though long watching, and exact Obler Q. Pray give me leave to propofe a Cafe to you. Some few Years ago died a certain Gentleman, who left behind him three Sons, and an Estate of 200. per Annum. Q. Lately reading the Hiftory of Oxford Writers, in page 244. Mentioning the Works of Sir Edward Kelly, in the which he gives account of a Bottle of Elixir, found in the Ruins of Glaftenbuvation. And for the reft, let every ry-Abby, with the which at Tre- Man believe as much, or little on't bona in Bohemia, Kelly made Pro- as he pleases. jection the 9th of Decemb. 1586. with one fmall grain of the Elixir, (in proportion no bigger than the leaft grain of Sand) upon one ounce and a quarter of common Mercury, and it produced almost an ounce of pure Gold. At another time be made Projection upon a piece of Metal cut out of a Warming Pan, and without bis touching, or handling, or melting the Metal (only warming it in the Fire, the Elixir being put thereon it was transmuted into pure Silver: The faid Warming-Pan, and piece were fent to Queen Elizabeth, by her Ambailador, then refiding at Prague, that by fitting the piece with the place where it was cut out, it might exactly appear to be a piece of the faid Warm-half a Year of his time; 'twas a ing-Pan. The truth of this I greed; but by great misfortune very much doubt, therefore most the Eldeft Brother was baulk'd of earnestly entreat your Thoughts a Mistress within a Fortnight be 1 The Eftate he gave to his Eldeft be Son, provided he married a Wife worth 800 l. in a Years time; if not, 'twas to defcend to the fecond Son, with the fame provifo; If both fail'd, then 'twas to come to the third Son; if he fail'd, then 'twas to revert to the Eldeft, and all of them to try their Fortunes over again. The Eldest Son takes no care of marrying, till his Year was almost expired.then he comes to a Compofition with his fecond Brother, to give him 200 l. for fore |