334 Miscella?ieotis Iufelligntce. 



discoloured. After this, nothing- will be left but the long fibres, which at* 

 to be carefully dried in the sun. The bundles are then to he carded by very 

 fine instruments, and the long: filaments thus obtained steeped in oil to ren- 

 der thtm more flexible. A small quantity of cotton-Wool, or flax, is next to 

 be mixed (taking care th; t the mineral fibre is in every part the principal 

 material, and smoothly adjusted), by means of a spinning-wheel, the whole 

 is to be drawn into a thread. — The cloth being woven, in the usual manner, 

 is placed upon a clear charcoal fire, and made red hot. so as to bnrn out the 

 vegetable or animal matter &:c. The remaining tissue will consist of pure 

 while amianth This kind of cloth has also been made, without the assist- 

 ance of other substances, by rubbing and soaking the mineral fibres until 

 they become so delicate and son a* to admit of being spun at once into 

 threads. This is the process recommended hv Madam Perpeuti. 



"The very short fibres which separate during the repeated washings, may 

 be subsequently worked into paper. For this purpose, however, they re- 

 quire to be well beaten, until reduced to an impalpable powder, and, subse- 

 quently, to be worked up with a large quantity of size in water. These pre- 

 cautions are far more necessary for the amianth than for cotton or linen 

 paper, in consequence of the much greater weight of the mineral paste. 

 After the paper has been formed, the sizing is burnt out. 



" We will now briefly trace the decline of the mineral weaving, &c. It is 

 apt to be the most glaring characteristic of the antiquarian virtuoso to la- 

 ment the loss of certain arts among the moderns, nor does utilHy always 

 constitute an item of his regrets, 1 he ancient process for weaving amianth 

 cloth appeared to be extolled, not from any accurate knowledge of the fact, 

 but because a hint or two about its superior quality may be found among a 

 few writers of antiquity. One of these authorities (Pliny), it is true, com- 

 pares it with the byssine cloth, obtained from the neighbourhood of Elis, and 

 which was very much esteemed: but while he thus intimates its superiority, 

 he elsewhere bears indirect testimony that the cloth was used merely as a 

 rare and curious article. This writer furnishes three strong reasons why 

 amianth cloth could not have been in common use among the Romans. 

 The first is, the difficulty of procuring the mineral. It is described as oc- 

 curring on the deserts and parched grounds of India, where rain never falls, 

 and where serpents and other formidable reptiles abound. Secondly, it is 

 stated that the amianthus, when obtained, was very scarce, and commanded 

 a price equal to that of the most costly pearls. Lastly, it is expressly no- 

 ticed that the workmanship was exceedingly difficult, on account of the 

 shortness of the fibre. These statements are not only in opposition to the 

 belief that the ancients used such articles generally, but the last one goes 

 far to contradict the assertion of Pliny himself respecting the quality. We 

 have, however, a still stronger fact to'show, that even in the rich and luxu- 

 rious times of the Roman empire, the mineral cloth was not so much in use 

 for the purpose of collecting the ashes of the dead. Out of the immense 

 number of ancient sepulchres opened in Italy during modern times, not more 

 than one such cloth lias ever been discovered, and that (found at Rome, 

 17IKJ,) is of very coarse texture, and too small to answer the purpose of a 

 wrapper for the body. In sey eral urns charcoal was found mixed with the 

 ashes, a circumstance indicating- no great care. 



'•The truth is, that the cloth has always ranked as a curiosity, and, not 

 unfrequently, has had bestowed upon it properties calculated for the credu- 

 lous and ignorant. Pliny, who was ever too partial to hearsay records, has 

 condescended to state, upon the authority of one Anaxilaus, that amianth 

 cloth, merely wrapped round a tree, has the power of depriving the blow of 

 a hatchet of' all sound! The same relish for the marvellous, no doubt, in- 

 duced Marco Polo to state, that the body of our Saviour was in his time, 

 preserved in Rome in a shroud of amianth, or incorruptible cloth. .Atha- 

 nasius Kircher, (a Jesuit of the 17th century,) in his ' Mundvs SubierranewsJ 

 also extols this mineral with all the zeal of a connoisseur. He boasts of 

 having in his collection a paper-screen, and a lady's veil of it, together with 

 a lamp-wick, which had burnt for two years without consuming, and which, 

 he wisely adds, will last for ever, if not stolen. Whether this wick is still in 

 operation, we have not learnt; but may venture to conclude, notwithstand- 

 ing the testimony of partial advocates, that the decline of the art among the 

 moderns is wholly owing to the insignificance of the articles manufactured. 



