TWO PSEUDO-SCIENCES 



tli at the whole process " lay in the spirit as much as in 

 the substance," many, as we have seen, regarding the 

 whole process as a divine manifestation. 



Sometimes a hollow rod was used for stirring the 

 mixture in the crucible, this rod containing gold dust, 

 and having the end plugged either with wax or soft 

 metal that was easily melted. Again, pieces of lead 

 were used which had been plugged with lumps of gold 

 carefully covered over ; and a very simple and impres- 

 sive demonstration was making use of a nugget of 

 gold that had been coated over with quicksilver and 

 tarnished so as to resemble lead or some base metal. 

 When this was thrown into acid the coating was re- 

 moved by chemical action, leaving the shining metal 

 in the bottom of the vessel. In order to perform some 

 of these tricks, it is obvious that the alchemist must 

 have been well supplied with gold, as some of them, 

 when performing before a royal audience, gave the 

 products to their visitors. But it was always a paying 

 investment, for once his reputation was established 

 the gold -maker found an endless variety of ways of 

 turning his alleged knowledge to account, frequently 

 amassing great wealth. 



Some of the cleverest of the charlatans often invited 

 royal or other distinguished guests to bring with them 

 iron nails to be turned into gold ones. They were 

 transmuted in the alchemist's crucible before the eyes 

 of the visitors, the juggler adroitly extracting the 

 iron nail and inserting a gold one without detection. 

 It mattered little if the converted gold nail differed 

 in size and shape from the original, for this change in 

 shape could be laid to the process of transmutation; 



