Manly P. Hall Collection, Box 3

...pouring it out, and pouring in another, continue until pure vinegar comes out from the Mercury. Afterwards, pour hot water over it to extract all the salt from the Mercury, and always mix it with your hands so that it runs into a heap, and dry the water out of it with a clean cloth, and afterwards take the leather by tying it with a string with all your strength, and do this three times; afterwards express it through a cloth also three times, and afterwards place a clean cloth upon a small dish, and permit it to lie there well covered, so that no humidity can reach it. —

Take then one and a half pounds of Vitriol sulfates of various metals, and take three pounds of purified salt, and one pound of Mercury; and mix all this together, and pour it into an earthenware mortar, and grind until midday, and beware of the wind air currents. Afterwards, while grinding these well, pour them into a glass vessel and place it upon a furnace prepared for it, and make not a great fire, and remember that the glass should stand in clean sand, placed in an earthenware basin, and permit the glass to be open so that the humidity may go out, and thus the glass ought to be warm, like a sitting egg. And know that the humidity will scarcely pass in a day and a night, and you may test this in such a manner: place a knife over the opening of the glass, and allow it to lie for a while; if there is still humidity, then the knife will be moist in that place, but if all the humidity has gone out, then it will be dry. Allow it to stand thus for an hour with the glass open, increasing the fire, and test again, afterwards until finally the humidity goes out. Then close the glass with good lute potter's clay sealant, so that no vapor can go out by any way, give also a much greater fire for a day and a night. Afterwards, let the glass cool, break its neck, and see whether there lies in the glass a powder like snow; gather it cleanly, and if it is not powder, at least grind the whole in an earthenware mortar, and sieve it and beware of the wind; for you must grind there where it is well warmed, and immediately pour it again into the glass, and place it upon the furnace, as before, and give fire at first slowly, and leave the glass open in case any humidity might still remain in the powder, testing with the knife as before, and afterwards close the glass, and give a much greater fire for a day and night, afterwards [continues...]