Phosphorescence, or, the emission of light by minerals, plants, and animals / by T.L. Phipson.

  • Phipson, T. L. (Thomas Lamb), 1833-1908.
Date:
1870
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Phosphorescence, or, the emission of light by minerals, plants, and animals / by T.L. Phipson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    no doubtj looked npon shoe-mending as a sorry occupation for a man initiated in tlie secrets of tlie sublime art/^ and wlio might indeed have ranked among the first adepts of his day. Some time had elapsed since our cobbler had set his heart upon gold-makings when^ strolling one fine Sunday evening near the httle eminence known as the Monte Paterno_, about a league from Bologna^ he picked up a stone^ similar to any other stone^ save perhaps in one particular^ its great weight. The fact struck him. This stone possesses^ thought he^ one of the properties of gold. Per- haps he imagined that it contained gold which might be extracted; or, may be, he fancied it would be capable, from its heaviness, of trans- formuig vile or imperfect metals into gold, by im- parting to them its characteristic property. Cardan, Van Helmont, Libavius, and many other distinguished alchemists, had lived before Cascariolo^s time, but I know not whether he stu- died their works, and I doubt whether he would have profited much by them if he had. It is impossible to ascertain therefore what pro- minent idea, or what kind of theory reigned in the cobbler's miud on the discovery of this stone, destined to become celebrated and to immortalize his name. However, no sooner had he collected a certain number of specimens, than he hastened