o had scarcely listened to the last words, "if
mercury can be dipped up in pails, it must be very easy to get it. I
read somewhere that gold and silver are so mixed in with the rock that
it takes a great deal of time and money to separate them."

"That is true; but mercury is not always obtained easily. It forms part
of a soft, red rock called cinnabar, composed of mercury and sulphur.
The cinnabar is crushed and exposed to heat, when the metal, in the
form of vapor, passes into a vessel suited to the purpose, where it is
cooled. Then, being reduced to its liquid state, it is pure and fit for
use. When men working in the mines heat the rocks, the quicksilver will
sometimes roll out in drops as large as a pigeon's egg, and fall on the
ground in millions of sparkling globules. Think how very beautiful it
must be, the dark red rock glittering on every side with the living
silver, while every crack and crevice is filled with it!

"Visitors to the mines of Idria are shown an experiment that I think
would interest you boys. In large iron kettles filled with mercury are
placed huge stones, and these stones do not sink."

"Why, grandpa! how can that be?"

"Did you ever see wood floating on water?"

"Yes, sir, but that is different."

"But the principle is the same; can you tell me why?"

Both the boys looked puzzled.

"It is only because the wood does not weigh so much as water; neither
are the stones as heavy as mercury, therefore they cannot sink."

"I wish we could go into the mines. Can't you take us, sometime,
grandpa?" said Harry.

"That is asking rather too much, my child, for quicksilver is not a
common metal. There are in the world only four important localities
from which it is obtained. These are California, Peru, Austria, and
Almaden in Spain. The mines nearest us are in California. I think I
shall never go as far as that, but I hope you both may before you reach
my age.

"It is a curious story how the mines in Peru were discovered. Cinnabar,
when ground very fine, will make a beautiful red paint. The Indians
used this to ornament their bodies on grand occasions. This caused the
country where they lived to be examined, and the cinnabar was found.
The Romans used this paint hundreds of years ago in decorating their
images and in painting pictures. It is very highly valued now, and we
call it vermilion."

"Fred," continued Mr. Lenox, "you spoke of the difficulty of
separating gold and silver from the ro