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General Bljlory of D R U G G S.

Vol. H.

To pu rifle or refine Antimony, they meltit over the Fire in Pots or Crucibles, in or-der co feparate the Gangue or Drofs ; whichCooling, they caft it into Cakes, as it appearswhen brought to us, which we ufually, tho'improperly, call Crude Antimony, notwith-ftanding it has paft the Fire. Hungarian An-timony was formerly brought into Francein little Cakes, full of fmall Shoots likeNeedles, flicking interchangeably one withthe other, that thine, and are inclinable towhite, like Silver Oar ; but fince this Mi-neral has been difcover'd in France, we havenone comes from Hungary, whence it is be-come very fcarce. The Antimony we ordi-narily ufe is brought from Poitou, which youought to chufe neat, in fine, long, brillantShoots, eafie to break j it is naturally com-pos'd of a great deal of Snlphur, like com-mon Sulphur, and of a Kind of a Regulus,like a Metal. [ But you have a further Ac-count of it in Mr. Lemerfs Book of Chy-miftry, to which I refer you/)

Of the Regulus of Antimony.

The ordinary or common Regulus of An-timony, without Mars or Iron, is made ofAntimony, Saltpeter, and Tartar, melted to-gether, and cart into a fmall Mortar, greas'd,and lb by the Knock of a Hammer the Regu-lus is made to fall to the Bottom, which if itgood ought to be white, in beautifulScales, and juft like Tin-glafs. If the Regulusihou'd not prove good at the firft Operation,it may be melted and purified again with alittle Saltpeter; the oftner ir is melted themore will it decreafe, but the better will italfo be.

Of this Regulus are made the Cups andPills, and other chymical Operations, aslhall be feen hereafter.

Of Regulus of Antimony with Mars.

The Regains of Antimony with Mars ismade of Antimony, Saltpeter, and Points ofHorfe Nails, or fmall Nails melted toge-ther ; which by Means of the Fire, and pro-ceeding much after the Manner as in the pre-ceding Operation, is reduced into a Regulus.

This Regulus, if good, is much like the- other, but withal ought to have a Sort of

Star upon the Topi I (hall not think itworth my While to recount the many fabu-lous Stories of the Ancients concerning thisStar, and the Caufe of it, but (hall only takeNotice, that it appears more or lefs, accord-ing to the Degree of Fire the Regulus has un-dergone.

Of this Regulus is prepar'd the purging, orrather the emetick Wine; and here you oughtto be caution'd to throw away the three orfour firft Wines you make with the Cups,leaft it Ihou'd produce fome ill Accident.

Whereas moft People that have Occafionfor the Goblets or Cups of the Regulus, findDifficulty to come by them, let them applyto a Founder and they may have what Sortsand Sizes they will, at a cheap Rate, with-out troubling themfelves with Moulds, asfeveral have done to their Labour and Coft,who have at laft been oblig'd to give over theAttempt, not being able to make one Cupwithout a Hole or fome other Defedt. Youmay alfo get thefe fame Founders to makeyou the perpetual Pills, or you may eafilymake em yourfelf with a Musket-BallMould.

The Pills ferve for thofe that have theTwifting of the Guts, or Miferere Mei, focall'd. When they are return'd from out ofthe Body, 'tis but wafliing and cleaning of'em again, and they'll ferve as oft as youpleafe, which gives them the Name of Per-petual. They may alfo be infus'd, as well asthe Regulus in Wine, cold, for the Space oftwelve Hours, which is faid to be a goodMedicine for ftrong Conftitutions.

Of Glafs of Antimony.

The Glafs, or Vitrum of Antimony, is anAntimony feparated from its Sulphurs, whichare a deadly Poifon, and for that Reafonought the Operation to be perform'd in aChimney to avoid the Exhalations; then it isto be melted in a Crucible, and caft upona hot Marble to make ic in the Mannerwe behold it, and as it comes to us fromHolland.

'Tis an Operation I cannot advife any oneto undertake, not only upon Account of thegreat Difficulty and Hazard attending it, butalfo becaufe we cannot make it turn to thatAdvantage as the Dutch do.

Choofe