GOLD. 447 



ides, we have not data to determine, unless the 

 presence of water of crystallization in the salt 

 may be considered as a proof of the truth of the 

 latter supposition. If these metals be in the 

 state of oxides, then it follows, that the peroxide 

 of gold, which the salt must contain, is a com- 

 pound, not of 3 atoms oxygen and 1 atom gold, 

 as Berzelius supposes, but of 2 atoms oxygen 

 and 1 atom gold ; for upon no other supposition 

 can the products of the analysis be accounted 

 for. No muriatic acid, but only chlorine, was 

 disengaged from the salt. If the metals be 

 oxydized, then the salt is composed of 



2 atoms muriatic acid = 9*25 "1 



1 atom peroxide of gold = 27'00 | 



1 atom muriatic acid = 4-625 1 



1 atom soda . . = 4-000 j 



5 atoms water . 5-625 



50-5 



The great difficulty attending the decomposition 

 of this salt by heat rather leads to the supposi- 

 tion, paradoxical as it may appear, that the gold 

 in it is in the state of a bichloride. If that sup- 

 position be admitted as the most probable, then 

 Berzelius' deduction, that peroxide of gold 

 contains 3 atoms of oxygen, still retains its plau- 

 sibility. 



If we adopt Berzelius' experiments on the 



