i£8 Natural Magick. c Bookjy .

cast into it ten or eight pieces of brass, and it will colour them all, that they (hailmost lively counterfeit silver. But if you desire

I'll make brass (hew it felf of a silver colour, by rubbing it betwixt your hands,as boy es and cozening companions are oftentimes wont to do, that if they do buthandle any vessels of brass, they will make them straightways to glitter like Silver,you may use this devise. Take Ammoniack-falr, and Alome, and Sait-peeter,of eachof them an equal weight, and mingle them together, and put unto them a smallquantity of Silver-dust, that hath been filed off; then set them all to the fire, thacthey may be thoroughly hot; and when the fume or vapour is exhaled fromthem, that they have left reaking, make a powder of them ; and whatsoeverbrass you cast that powder upon, if you do withal, either wet it with yourown spittle, or else by little and little rub it over with your fingers, yonshall find that they will seem to be of a silver colour. But if you wouldwhiten such brass more handsomely and neatly, you must take another course :You must dissolve a little silver with yiqua-fortis , and put unto it so muchLees of wine, and as much Ammoniack-salt 5 let them so lie together tillthey be about the thickness of the filth that is rubbed off from a mans bo-dy after his sweating: then rcul it up in some small round balls, and so letthem wax dry: when they are dry, if you rub them with your fingers uponany brass or other like metal, and still as you rub them moisten them with tlittle spittle, you shall make thac which you rub upon to be very like unto silver.The very like experiment may be wrought by Quick-silvcr ; for this hath awonderful force in making any metal to become white. Now, whereas wepromised before, co teach you, not onely how to endue brase or such othermetal with a silver colour, but also how to preserve and keep the bodies socoloured from returning to their former hiew again , you must beware that thesebodies which arc endued with such a silver colour, do not take hurt by anysharp or sowre liquor; for either the urine, or vineger, or the juice of limons, orany such tart and sowre liquor, will cause this colour soon to fade away, and sodiscredit your work, and declare the colour of those metals to be false and coun-terfeit.

Chap. IV.

Of Iron , and how to transform it into a more worthy metal,

N Ow the order of my proceedings requires, that I should speak somewhat al-so concerning Iron; for this is a metal which the Wizards of India did highlyesteem, as having in it self much goodness, and being of such a temperature, that itmay easily be transformed into a more worthy and excellent metal then it self is.Notwithstanding, some there are , which reject this metal as altogether unprofi-table, because it is so full of gross earthly substance, and can hardly be melted inthe fire, by reason of that firm and sctlcd brimstone which is found in it. But ifany man would

Change Iron into Brass ,

so that no part of the grosse and earthly substance (ball remain in it, he may easilyobtain his purpose by Copprcsse or Vitriol. It is reported that in the mountainCarpatus an Hill of Pannonia , at a certain Town called Smolinitium , there is aLake, in which there are three channels full of water; and whatsoever Iron is putinto those channel?, it is converted into brass: and if the Iron which you cast in-to them be in small pieces or little clamps, presently they are converted into mudordirr ; bur if that mud be baked and hardened in the fire, it will be turned intoperfect good brass. But there is an artificial means whereby this also may be affect-ed; andit is to be done on this wise. Take Iron, and pur into a casting vtss-1;and when it is red hot with the vehement heat of the sire, and that it beginneth tomelt,you must cast upon it by little and little some sprinkling of quick britstwone: then

you