CHEMISTRY

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 136, 5 March 1927, Page 24

CHEMISTRY

THE PICARESQUE IN ALCHEMY

Tradition lias it that there are •‘black sheep” in every family and in every walk of life; it may be added that they arc to be found in every profession. The profession of chemistry, in modern days, offers few examples of departure from the road of turgid respectability; yet in earlier times it was a fertile field for rogues and charlatans of many'vivid types. Carlyle,. it is true, has immortalised Cagliostro; but there were others whose inspired impudence deserves a fairer tribute than the obscurity into which their names are fallen "(writes Andrew Kent in the “Glasgow Herald”).

Even in our twentieth century there are a few romantic figures who devote their energies to the production of gold from baser metals, with heroic and most admirable contempt for all the known lawX of physical science. And it was the universal belief of the Middle Ages that there existed a chemical substance —“the sympathetic powder of alchemy”—capable, by simple fusion, of converting lead and mercury into the “noblest metal.” It would serve little purpose to discuss, in this place, the motives which concentrated the efforts of the alchemists on its discovery; suffice it to say that the misguided" ignorance of science, added to the credulity of a superstitious public, offered striking prospects of “easy money” to such as were minded to pretend to possession -of this powder, and clever enough to maintain' their deception. Candidates were seldom wanting; and these short sketches of some typical careers may prove of passing interest.

An Arabian Alchemist. One of the earliest authentic examples is Ben Zakertijah er-Rasi, generally referred to as Rliasis or Razi, who was born at Ray, in Irak, in the year 850 A.D. The first thirty,years of His life were devoted to an intensive study of wine, woman, and song; thereafter lie applied himself with equal zeal to the pursuit of medical and chemical knowledge. His eventual reputation as a physician was undoubtedly and deservedly great. He took charge of the then famous hospital at Bagdad, and it is said that some of his precepts were still practically applied in Western universities of the seventeenth centurv. In chemistry he displayed considerable experimental ability, and is given credit, among other things, for the first description of borax. The vanity of his youth, however, reappeared with declining years, and he published a weightv volume on the chemical production of gold. Readers of pre-sent-dav text-books may recognise a modern tang in the fact that lie does not seem to have tested his own meHiod before he published'it. Because, xWien his patron—the Emir Almansour—begged for ocular evidence of this marvel, the alchemist offered him full satisfaction if he would only provide the necessary materials. The nobleman spared neither pain nor expense to do his part; .but Rhasis failed completely in .liis. No gold was forthcoming, and the enraged potentate, with an exaggerated sense of poetic justice, is said to have hit the old man on the head with his own book, and so violently as Io permanently _ impair his eyesight. Rhasis took llis misfortunes calmly; when condoled jvith on his blinded state, he replied grandiloquently: "I have seen the world”; and he died in disgrace and poverty about the year 932 A.D. A Brief and Bright Career. David Beuther, who lived in the sixteenth century, Was an assayer at the mint in St.'Annaberg. Averring that he had cotne into possession of some “sympathetic powder,” he neglected his duties in enjoyment of his now-found wealth. • He was at length arrested, tried, and condemned to the loss of two fingers if he did not disclose his process for making gold. > On promising to do so he was re-, turned to the municipal laboratory, being regarded, one may presume, as an' asset of great potential value to the Common Good Fund. Although his townsmen, in this crude fashion, demonstrated their faith in his powers, Beuther’s later experiments were conducted under two handicaps, which he found insurmountable. He was constantly attended by an assistant; moreover, "as is obvious, he had no longer access to the mint. Soon after - the commencement of his hopeless task- he seized on a pretext for dismissal of his attendant, and escaped the difficulties of his onerous reputation by committing suicide, a sad sacrifice to his own vanity. Neapolitan Wits. Tn the middle of the 17th century Domenico Manual Cajatcno was born in a peasant home near Naples. In early youth he was apprenticed to _a goldsmith. and at the same time, it is interesting to note, he developed a local reputation as a juggler. Having by his own account come into possession of some magic powder, he dubbed him- < self “Count” Ruggiero, and made, a sensational debut in Madrid, which was witnessed by the Bavarian Ambassador. This dignitary proceeded to secure the valuable services of the 1 Italian for his friend Maximilian, Gov- ' ernor of the Spanish Netherlands. Rug- ' giero soon managed, on the strength . of his promises alone, to borrow from ( his new' patron the sum of 60,000 gul- < den, with which he promptly decamp- j ed. He was, however, arrested shortly j afterwards, and cooled his heels for j the following six years in the castle prison of Grunewald. t It may be assumed that he devoted f this lengthy “retirement” to more in- 1 genious elaboration of his methods. I For in 1701 he is found at Vienna sue- e cessfully hypnotising- the Emperor Deo- I pold, and, in later periods, the Prince 11 of the Palatinate and Frederick I of J Prussia. 0

To this latter gentleman lie promised the manufacture of a fortune in GO days. Strangely enough, at the end of this period, he found himself called to Italy on urgent and private business! But here the patience of his Imperial dupe gave out, and tile alchemist was eventually shut up at Kustrin • along with his apparatus.There was the sinister suggestion about this arrangement that, if "Ruggiero” could not produce a golden crown for the Emperor, His Majesty would be at some pains to provide him witli a hempen collar of a peculiarly uncomfortable type; and the upshot is scarcely surprising. In August, 1709, the adventurous Domenico suffered a sudden transmutation himself. He was clad for the gallows in a satirical suit of shining tinsel; and thus, however, he had Jived, he died as befits a metallurgist, A Prolonged Success. While the life span of the average transmutator bore a direct and sinister proportion to his mobility, Christian Wilhelm, Baron von Krohnemann, deserves brief mention, if only for the almost sedentary nature of his professional career. He is found in 1677 at the Court of the Markgraf George William of Bayreuth, in high favour with this gentleman on account of his ability to "fix” mercury so that, on volatilisation, a part remained behind as gold. The simplicity of his method is perhaps best indicated by the fact that he could

: in the same manner produce silver as well; its venerability, by the fact that the production of gold from mercury was authenticated, according to some authorities, by Hermes Trismegistus himself! The procedure recommended by this patriarch of the science may be of some interest, and is alleged to have been as follows:—“Catch the flying bird and drown it, so that it fly no more!” The “flying bird,” it need hardly be said, is mercury: and Hie description of this important synthesis must appeal to modern minds as having a .business-like brevity and a romantic charm, which are noticeably absent from present-day technology. At all events, Krohnemanu's success was signalised by a birthday gift to the Markgraf of a medal made from the residual metal of his experiments: it should be said that descriptions of this interesting ornament, which was struck in 1679, arc still extant. As a result of this and similar feats, the adept was ennobled and promoted to high offices of State. He posed, as well he might, as a very great authority on r.ll matters pertaining to chemistry;' and the remarkable fact is that he maintained his position for no less than ten years! At the end of this period he was publicly denounced as a cheat by the local Master of. the Mint. History is silent as to whether this declaration was induced by professional jealousy or, as seems very probable, by the dissolution of an old’ and very profitable partnership. In any case, the Baron Krohnemann was tried, condemned, and duly executed in the year 1686. Above him was inscribed a’ sarcastic epitaph to this effect: that while it was his intention merely to “fix” mercury, he had finally fixed himself. It was a hard fate for one who had jested so, long and so heartily that “the last laugh” should be against him. ,