2 PHOSPHORESCENCE. 



no doubt, looked upon shoe-mending as a sorry 

 occupation for a man initiated in the secrets of 

 the " sublime art/' and who might indeed have 

 ranked among the first adepts of his day. 



Some time had elapsed since our cobbler had 

 set his heart upon gold-making, when, strolling 

 one fine Sunday evening near the little eminence 

 known as the Monte Paterno, about a league 

 from Bologna, he picked up a stone, similar to 

 any other stone, save perhaps in one particular, 

 its great weight. 



The fact struck him. This stone possesses, 

 thought he, one of the properties of gold. Per- 

 haps he imagined that it contained gold which 

 might be extracted; or, may be, he fancied it 

 would be capable, from its heaviness, of trans- 

 forming vile or imperfect metals into gold, by im- 

 parting to them its characteristic property. 



Cardan, Van Helmont, Libavius, and many 

 other distinguished alchemists, had lived before 

 Cascariolo's time, but I know not whether he stu- 

 died their works, and I doubt whether he would 

 have profited much by them if he had. 



It is impossible to ascertain therefore what pro- 

 minent idea, or what kind of theory reigned in 

 the cobbler's mind on the discovery of this stone, 

 destined to become celebrated and to immortalize 

 his name. However, no sooner had he collected 

 a certain number of specimens, than he hastened 



