240

EAU DE LUCE.

by the name of the composition, that of the local situationwhere it was first discovered is given.

However, it should be noticed, that the name de Luce,will admit of so many interpretations that nothing conclu-sive can be adjusted or deduced from it; some say it shouldbe Aqua Luccana,' some Aqua St. Lucia ,* others say, AquaLucii ; 1 * 3 whilst there are not wanting those who write itEau de Lusse. A respectable opinion, however, appearsin favour of an apothecary ofLisle in Flanders, or at Amster-dam , who they say was named Luce; they allege that hewas the inventor, on the authority of Malouin, the editor ofLemerys chymistry,- that of Lier and others.

Numbers of the French writers will have it, that it wasfirst invented in Paris , by an apothecary, whose name wasDubalen, who, they say, with his successor, Juliot, longkept the preparation a secret.

It has been since discovered to consist of a caustic volatilealkali, and highly purified oil of amber. When these ma-terials are pure, it retains a milky appearance. It is gene-rally sold by perfumers. It is employed as a soap, to removespots from cloth which cannot be affected by common soap ;mixed with water, it is also administered as a medicinefor various accidents and diseases; it is considered as anantidote against those dreadful effects which would accruefrom the bite of certain snakes: by reason of its strong andvery pleasant smell, it operates as a powerful stimulantin fainting. But this essential caution should be alwaysremembered, that if a particle of it comes in contact withthe eye, it will produce blindness. Some instances of this,have, we understand, been recorded in the Gazette Salu-taire.

It is remarked, that one of our countrymen, of the nameof Dossie, was among the first who gave an account of theproper way of preparing it, with its constituent^wts, inhis publication intituled The Elaboratory laid open, publishedin 1758.

It ought not to be omitted, that the observation has beenmade that Parisian Eau de Luce, is conceived to be themost properly prepared: it usually retains its milky ap-pearance, its fine smell, and other virtues; whereas, therewas a spurious sort manufactured in Flanders and Holland,

1 Wallerius Physische Cheraie, ii. p. 348.

1 Gmelin Apparatus Medicaminum. Regnum miner, i. p. 101.

3 Stockar de Neuforn Diss. de Succino. Ludg. Bat. 1760. p. 65.