the Septentrional
Batavia, vulgarly called Nord Hollund.

After salutations ended, his new
Guest, with great Reverence, asked,
whether he might have freedom to
come to me; because for the Pyrotechnick
Art sake, he could not, nor
was he willing to pass by the Door
of my house; adding, that he had
not only thought to have made use
of some Friend to come to me,
but had also read some of my little
Treaties, especially that, which I
published against D. Digbies Sympathetick
Powder, in which I discovered
my doubt of the true Philosophick
Mystery. Therefore, this
occasion being taken, he asked me,
whether I could believe, that place
was given to such a Mystery in the
things of Nature, by the benefit of
which a Physician might be able to
cure all Diseases universally, unless
the Sick already had a defect either
of the Lungs, or Liver, or of any
like noble Member? To which I
answered. Such a Remedy is exceeding
necessary for a Physician,
but no man knows, what and how
great are the Secrets yet hidden in
Nature, nor did I ever, in all my
Life see such an Adept Man, although
I have read and perused
many things, touching the verity
of this thing, or Art, in the Writings
of Philosophers. I also enquired
of him, whether he (speaking
of the Universal Medicine) were
not a Physician? But he answering
by denyal, professed, that he
was no other than a Melter of Orichalcum,
and that in the Flower of
his years, he had known many
things, from his Friend, rare to
the Sight, and especially the way
of Extracting Medicinal Arcanums
by the force of Fire, and that for
this very cause, he was a Lover of
this so noble Science of Medicine.
Moreover, long after other discourses,
touching Experiments in Metals,
made by the violence of Fire,
Elias the Artist spake to me thus;
Do not you know the Highest Secret,
when it is offered to your sight,
viz. the Stone of Phylosophers,
you having read in the Writings
of many Chymists most excellent,
touching the Substance, Colour,
and strange effect of the same?
I answered, not at all; except what
I have read in Paracelsus, Helmont,
Basilius, Sandivogius, and like Books
of Adept Phylosophers extant. Nevertheless,
I think, I am not able
to know the Phylosophick Matter,
whether it be true, or not, although
I should see it present before me.

Whilst I was speaking thus, he
pulled out of his Pocket an Ivory
Box, in which he had three ponderous
Fragments, in magnitude
scarcely equa