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ALBERTUS's SECRETS OF NATURE.

TO give a man's body the appearance of a headlefs trunk, take a ferpent's flough, or caft fkin, which being mingled with orpine, pitch, bees wax, and afs's blood, and formed into a paste, throw into a pot of water, and after it has boiled over a flow fire, let it cool to a confiftence: this being made into candles and lighted, will produce the extraordinary effect abovementioned. It is faid that a rope which has been used in the hanging of a malefactor, added to a hand-full of ftraw, that has been whistled aloft in the air, being put into a vefiel, endues it with a power to break all others of the fame kind that happen to touch it. Lay a part of it on a baker's peel, and, what is fcarce credible, inftead of fubmitting to the fiery ordeal, it will fly out of the oven. We fometimes fee the human face divine diftorted to the refemblance of irrationals; in order to tranfform it in appearance to that of a dog, let whofoever is curious to try the experiment, take the fat of a dog, that which is found near the animal's ear, and therewith anoint a piece of new bombazeen, which being put into a new lamp of green glafs and fet in the midst of a company, prefents a fpectacle truly diverting to the beholders, while cach laughs at the canine configuration of face of his neighbour. To enable one to fee what remains invifible to others, it is neceffary to be provided with the gall of a male cat, and the fat of a white hen, with which the eyes are to be anointed. Perpetual impotence may be caufed in a perfon by giving him to drink any liquid in which has been infufed a glow worm pulverized. In the neft of the lapwing is faid to be found a tone of various colours, which renders the perfon who carries it invifible. An eafy method of catching moles is the laying at the aperture of their burrow, onions, leeks,

garlick; which makes them fally

forth immediately, allured as it is fuppofed, or overpowered by the effluvia, To untie the most intricate knot, let the following charm be used; like many useful difcoveries it owes its rife to chance. A perfon rambling in a wood obferved a magpy's neft; refolving to make a property of the neft and its contents, which he hoped would turn out to be confiderable from the felonious difpofition afcribed to birds of that fpecies, he afcends to the hoard, and to make fure of every article, effectually prevented all ingrefs and egress, by tying up the manfion with many a round of cord, the extremities of which he knotted with fuch intricacy as to undo would require no common fhare of patience. All things being adjusted, the moment he was preparing to tranfport the airy building with the infant inhabitants it chanced to contain, fome fudden emergency occafioned his immediate defcent from the tree; while nature kept him employed at fome distance, comes the mother bird with all a parent's anxiety, and after having fluttered round her habitation for fome moments, unable to find any inlet, flew off apparently in defpair. The clown in the interim fecreted himfelf, as an encouragement to the bird to make a fecond effort; and promifed himself much amufement from the unavailing endeavours of mag, having fet her as he imagined an infurmountable task. In a little time returned the difconfolate bird with an herb in her "beak; the clown wondering what would be the event, kept his eyes fixed upon her, and great was his aftonishment on feeing the ties that had coft him fo much pains diffolved by the application of the herb which the let drop as foon as it had removed the impediments to her entrance. As the above method may be employed for difcovering the herb which poffefles fo fingular a property, Albertus omits

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Wonders in Nature.

the name and defcription of it. To terrify one in his fleep, let the skin of an ape be laid under his head. Befides divers other ways of worming the fecrets of women heretofore fet down, is that of laying upon the heart while afleep the tongue of a frog. In order to foreknow in fleep the good or evil that may betide, by means of fumigation; take the congealed blood of an afs, the fat of a lynx, and gum ftorax, an equal quantity of each, with thefe ingredients made into pills, fumigate the houfe, and there will appear to you during fleep a perfon ready to fatisfy all enquiries. A houfe may be made to appear full of ferpents as long as the following compofition continues burning in a lamp. Take the fat of a black ferpent, with which Imear a piece of a winding sheet twifted into the fhape of a candle, having previously inclofed in it the caft fkin of a black ferpent, and fet fire to it in a green or black lamp. The croaking of frogs is prevented by burning a candle formed of the fat of a crocodile mixed with wax bleached in the Sun's rays. By the light of a candle confifting of the following ingredients, things may be made to appear of a white or filver colour: cut off the tail of a lizard, fmear it with oil, which use as a wick. The following experiment has often created a laugh at the expence of unfufpecting perfons who were the occafion of it. A wick dipped in the blood of a tortoife being put into the hand of him who was marked out for the object of laughter, brought on a

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violent fit of crepitation which gave him no refpite while the candle continued lighted in his hand. An alarming appearance may be affumed by the following directions, without any hazard; take white mallows and fome whites of eggs, beat them up together, after which fmear your body, and after having allowed it fufficient time to dry on, fprinkle over the unction fome flour of fulphur, which you may fet on flame without apprehending any dangerous confequence. A coat of the fame ointment being laid on the palm of the hand, fecures it in the fame manner from the effects of fire. If you would form a fubftance that may be thrown into the fire without being confumed therein, to a portion of fifh's glue add an equal quantity of alum, diluting 1 with wine vinegar, which being mould into any fhape you like and cast into the fire will receive no injury. If on the contrary you wish to make the figure of a man, beaft, &c. which being thrown into the water will take fire, and extinguifhed without any other effort than taking it out, you may gratify your curiofity thus; to fome unflacked lime add an equivalent of marl and fulphur, which catches flame on being thrown into the water. To fee any thing by night as diftinctly as by day, fmear your face with the blood of a bat. A compofition which being rubbed on the hand will extinguish the light of a lamp when the hand is held open over, and fhut will rekindle it, is made by mixing Spum. Ind. with camphorated water.

THE ENGLISH FORTUNE-TELLER. N° V.

ACCORDING to the concurrent teftimony of all human nature, every individual feels a strong defire prompt him from within to know fomething of his future deftiny, how foon the prefent troubles will be over, and the hour of happiness arrive. This is moft wonderfully and clearly perceived even in the daily purfuits of

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190.

Fortune and Wisdom.

ftood by the name, or fuch as get a precarious penny from the credulous; but what is advifing, giving council, but fortune-telling? In this view we commence fage admonishers of youth, "to look to their path and mind what is right." In this view our fortune-telling cannot be repugnant to reafon or morality, unless it be unreasonable to study our prefent and future happiness.

On the contrary, it has a tendency to elevate the mind, and cheer up the fpirits in the purfuit of what is right, and certainly may be attended with real fervice to every perfon to know fomething of what may happen hereafter. Every perfon may perceive the leading features or difpofition of his nature, by paying a little attention to the inward emotions of his paffions, and accordingly frame the queftion, to which he will eafily find a reply in his own mind.

Accordingly if he pays attention to this, he will be fore-armed and forewarned, and making up of his reafon and judgment, be better able to correct the natural proneness he feels in himfelf to the evil which he is fenfible is predominant in his conftitution; or as Pope expreffes it in his Eflay on Man:

Reafon the bias turns from good to ill,
And Nero reigns a Titus if he will;
The fiery foul abhorr'd in Catiline,
In Decius charms, in Curtius is divine:
The fame ambition can deftroy or fave,
And make a patriot as it makes a knave.

In respect to fortune-telling, the antiquity is very remote indeed: the prophets were all feers, that is, they undertook to restore loft goods, and, according to the interpretation of the moft approved commentators, they alfo foretold future events, and intimated the confequences of purfuing evil. Jofephus informs us that the patriarchs engraved the rudiments of the fcience on pillars of ftone or brass, to preferve the fame to pofterity from

the univerfal deluge, which moft probably they forefaw approaching. After the flood, the firft people that we read of devoted to the science of knowing future events, were the Affyrians; after that, the Chaldeans, the Arabians, and the Indians became famous in this art. The Egyptians were always attached to this fcience, which their defcendants have so much difgraced by their manner of retailing. The Europeans borrowed their know. ledge of it from the Greeks and Orientals, who are still lovers of it even to enthufiafm.

It is needless to speak here in praife of the utility of it. Every one wishes to know the future effect of the prefent direction, and how they may molt fortunately manage their affairs in the world: but it moftly behoves every one to regulate his paffions, that he may keep them in a proper degree of fubferviency, for, as Dr. Watts obferves,

"The brutal paffions were made but to obey."

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Oracles of Fortune and Wisdim.

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lefs that wealth on which thousands and expofe himself to the public laughmight fubfift.

WISDOM.

Does he know that avarice is the

ter.

WISDOM.

It is certain that the leaft grain of paflion of vulgar fouls, and liberality vanity ought to preferve a man from

the natural inclination of great

Ones ?

FORTUNE.

Love will find an easy entrance into his heart, and there arbitrarily reign during the beft part of his life.

WISDOM.

If reafon oppofes not that tyrannical fway, what will be the emptiness of his mind when he recovers his free

dom.

FORTUNE.

This young philofopher will declare war against every paffion, but I doubt much of his fuccefs.

FORTUNE.

He looks on his inferiors with contempt, on his equals with uneafinefs; thefe are certainly symptoms of pride and envy.

WISDOM.

Let him check the growth of this natural disposition; a becoming pride never can be allied to envy.

FORTUNE.

At the flightest mark of disrespect he will fly into an excefs of paffion,

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LIVES OF EMINENT ASTROLOGERS, &c.

with a chemift, who artfully infufed

THE FIRST ENGLISH MATHEMATI- into his head the notions of the art of

CIAN.

JONAS Moore, one of the moft eminent mathematicians of his age, was born at Wittle, in Lancashire, He had a frong propenfity to ftudy from his childhood, and in the early part of his life taught the mathematics in London for his fupport. He was employed in the furvey of Norfolk for draining the fens. In this he took

notice that the fea formed a curve on the beach, from which he took the hint to keep it effectually out of Norfolk. Mr. Aubrey fays, he made a model of a citadel for Cromwell, to bridle the city of London, which was to have been the crofs building of St. Paul's church. He was Mr. Flamstead's patron, whom he took under his protection. He and Sir Christopher Wren are faid to have perfuaded King Charles to build the obfervatory at Greenwich, in which Flamstead was placed. He was the firft Englishman who compofed a " Syftem of the Mathematics" it was firft published in 2 vols. 4to. 1681. He was knighted by Charles II. who appointed him furveyor general of the ordnance. Sixty pieces of artillery were discharged at his funeral, Auguft 16th, 1679.

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making gold, univerfal diffolvents, and the philofopher's ftone, he devoted himfelf to the new art. He is faid to have carried his researches in phyfic and natural hiftory, (to which he certainly joined a great knowledge of minerology) to fuch a height, that he was accufed of magic, and in confequence, according to the prejudice of those times, was immured in the prifons of the Inquifition for a confiderable time, but afterwards had the happiness to get out. He then retired to Welwoord, where he spent the remainder of his days in making experiments, and very often at the hazard of his life. He died in 1644.

A WONDER SEEKER.

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JAMES Gaffarel, a man of learning in the feventeenth century, was born in Provence. He was a good Oriental. ift, and valued himself particularly upon occult fciences and cabalistical inquiries. Cardinal Richlieu made him his library-keeper, and fent him into Italy to buy up the best manufcripts and printed books he could meet with. Gaffarel published a book intituled Curiofitez Inouies," which made a great noife, and was cenfured by the Sorbonne, fo that he was forced to fubmit to a recantation. It is tranflated into English. Some pretend that Cardına Richlieu made ufe of him to carry on his defign of uniting the two religions, and to make a trial how the project would be relifhed, he gave him a commiffion to preach against the doctrine of purgatory. Gaffarel died at Sigonce in 1681, being eighty years of age, having almoit finished the work he had been feveral years upon it was a Hiftory of the fubterranean world, in which he treats of caves, grottos, mines, vaults, and

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