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and more of it own humour by degrees, and there was made a verytemperate consistence, in which there was no Hydrops, (or superfluousmoisture) as there was in the three former Eagles.8. I have found the best way of preparing the Sophick Mercury, viz. suchas follows.The Amalgamated Mass, espoused or joined very intimately by a dueMarriage, I put into a Crucible, and into a Furnace of Sand for half an hour,but so that it might not sublime; then I take it out, and strongly grind it;then I put it again in a Crucible, and in the Furnace, and after a quarter ofan hour or thereabouts. I grind it again, and I make the Mortar hot, by thismeans the Amalgama begins to be clean, and to cast forth a great deal ofPowder: then I put it in the Crucible again, and to the Fire as before, for aconvenient time, so that it be not sublimed, otherwise the greater the Fireis, the better it is; so continually grinding it, till almost all the Powder dothwholly disappear, then I wash it, and the Faeces are easily cast out, and theAmalgama becomes intire without any Heterogeneity; then I wash it withSalt, and again do heat and grind it: this I repeat to the full cleansing it fromall manner of Faeces.9. A Threefold Tryal of the Goodness of the Prepared MercuryTake thy Mercury prepared with its Arsnick of seven, eight, nine or teneagles, put it into a Phial, and thou shalt lute it with the Lutum Sapientiae:place it in a Furnace of Sand, and let it stand in an heat of Sublimation, sothat it may ascend and descend in the Glass, until it be coagulated a littlethicker than Butter: continue it unto a perfect Coagulation, until it be aswhite as Silver.10. Another tryal.If by shaking it in a Glass with the Salt of Urine, it be turned into animpalpable Powder of its own accord, so that it doth not appear as Mercury,and of its own accord in an hot and dry place it coagulates again into a thinMercury, it is enough; but yet better if being agitated in Fountain-water, itruns into small heads or particles, for if the grain be in the Body, it will notbe thus converted and separated into small minute parts.11. The third tryal.Distill it in a Glass Alembick, from a Glass Cucurbit; if it passes over andleaves nothing behind it, it is a good Mineral Water.180