B EeEectt'oitg upon x\)t $>mtl)eB& 



Urinous Spirits, which they hold to 

 have a great Antipathy to Acids, will;, 

 as I have tried in (bine of then);, readk 

 ly enough diflolve crude Iron even 

 in the Cold. And on the other fide, 

 Mercury will not work on the filings 

 oflron^though this be foopen a metal 

 that even weak liquors will do its 

 and yet if one fhould urge , that 

 Quickfilver readily diffolves Gold in 

 Amalgamation, he may expeftto be 

 told 5 according to their Doftrine^that 

 Udercury has in it an occult acid, by 

 which it performs the folution j 

 whereas it feems much more proba- 

 ble, that Mercury has Gorpufcles of 

 fuch a (hape and fize as fit them to in- 

 finu#te themfelves into the Gommen« 

 furate Pores they meet with in Gold, 

 but make them unfit to enter readily 

 the Pores ofIron 3 to which Nature 

 has not made them congruous 5 as on 

 the other fide the faline Gorpufcles of 

 Aquafortis will eafily find admtfiioa 

 into the Pores of Iron, but not into 

 thofeofGold, to which tbey do not 

 correfpond as rhey do to the others. 



' And 



