Manly P. Hall Collection, Box 3

Let the glass cool, and open it. You will find inside a pure white powder, which note: behold, it holds itself in a heap; collect it cleanly and save it. Grind the residue again and heat it as before; then add it to the other powder. If you have a pound, leave it at that; if you do not get a full pound, do not be concerned.

After you have obtained the mercury purified in this way, take three pounds of purified salt and your purified mercury. Grind this all together in a clean earthenware basin. Always take care to avoid drafts so that the mercury does not absorb humidity again. Pour this into a glass and place the glass on a furnace in an earthenware basin with sand. Use a steady fire so that the glass warms up and the humidity exits well, as has been written. After you have done this for a day and two nights, extinguish the fire and let it cool. After the glass is broken, take out the powder, which should be dispersible like a pearl. Be careful that the powder does not become like hard glass in a heap, for your work would be ruined; this happens from the intensity of the fire. If you notice that something remains in the salt, pour it back into the glass and do as before. Keep it cleanly so that no humidity reaches it, for this is to be revered; up to this point, it is called the Mercury of the Sages.

Note first: Vitriol sulfates of various metals is prepared thus: take three pounds of vitriol and grind it minutely. Pour it into an earthenware basin and place it over slow coals so that it dissolves. Always stir with a wooden spatula so that it does not burn. Do this until all humidity is well dried out. Then stop, grind it minutely, sift it, and keep it well in a dry place so that no humidity reaches it.

Note second: How is the salt to be prepared? Take red salt, then take a new pot and pour clean water into it, and wash away the impurities from the water. Pour all of it into the pot and stir so that it dissolves. Afterward, filter it through a dense cloth. Whatever remains, dissolve it in other water and do as before. When you have all the salt dissolved and well filtered, place it over slow, good coals so that it boils. And when you see that...