And that which is pretty in
the working of this Magistery of Wax, is, that the Yellowness vanishes,
neither appearing in the Spirit of Wine that passes Limpid through the
Filtre, nor in the Butter of Wax, if I may so call it, that, as I said, is
White.
_EXPERIMENT VIII._
There is an Experiment, _Pyrophilus_, which though I do not so exactly
remember, and though it be somewhat Nice to make, yet I am willing to
Acquaint You with, because the thing Produc'd, though it be but a
Curiosity, is wont not a little to please the Beholders, and it is a way of
turning by the help of a Dry Substance, an almost Golden-Colour'd Concrete,
into a White one, the Several Tryals are not at present so fresh in my
Memory to enable me to tell you Certainly, whether an Equal onely or a
Double weight of Common Sublimate must be taken in reference to the
Tinglass, but if I mistake not, there was in the Experiment that succeeded
best, Two parts of the Former taken to One of the Latter. These Ingredients
being finely Powdred and Exactly mix'd, we Sublim'd together by degrees of
fire (the due Gradation of which is in this Experiment a thing of main
Importance) there ascended a matter of a very peculiar Texture, for it was
for the most part made up of very Thin, Smooth, Soft and Slippery Plates,
almost like the finest sort of the Scales of Fishes, but of so Lovely a
White Inclining to Pearl-Colour, and of so Curious and Shining a Gloss,
that they appear'd in some respect little Inferiour to Orient Pearls, and
in other Regards, they seem'd to Surpass them, and were Applauded for a
sort of the Prettiest Trifles that we had ever prepar'd to Amuse the Eye.
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