AfterBorrihadbeenaboutelevenyearsinconfinement，asmallvolumewaspublishedatCologne，entitled“TheKeyoftheCabinetoftheChevalierJosephFrancisBorri；inwhicharecontainedmanycuriousLettersuponChemistryandotherSciences，writtenbyhim；
togetherwithaMemoirofhisLife。“ThisbookcontainedacompleteexpositionoftheRosicrucianphilosophy，andaffordedmaterialstotheAbbedeVillarsforhisinteresting“CountdeGabalis，“whichexcitedsomuchattentionatthecloseoftheseventeenthcentury。
BorrilingeredintheprisonofSt。Angelotill1695，whenhediedinhiseightiethyear。Besides“TheKeyoftheCabinet，“writtenoriginallyinCopenhagen，in1666，fortheedificationofKingFredericIII，hepublishedaworkuponalchymyandthesecretsciences，underthetitleof“TheMissionofRomulustotheRomans。“
INFERIORALCHYMISTSOFTHESEVENTEENTHCENTURY。
Besidesthepretenderstothephilosopher’sstonewhoseliveshavebeenalreadynarrated，thisandtheprecedingcenturyproducedagreatnumberofwriters，whoinundatedliteraturewiththeirbooksuponthesubject。Infact，mostofthelearnedmenofthatagehadsomefaithinit。VanHelmont，Borrichius，Kirchen，Boerhaave，andascoreofothers，thoughnotprofessedalchymists，werefondofthescience，andcountenanceditsprofessors。Helvetius，thegrandfatherofthecelebratedphilosopherofthesamename，assertsthathesawaninferiormetalturnedintogoldbyastranger，attheHague，in1666。
Hesaysthat，sittingonedayinhisstudy，aman，whowasdressedasarespectableburgherofNorthHolland，andverymodestandsimpleinhisappearance，calleduponhim，withtheintentionofdispellinghisdoubtsrelativetothephilosopher’sstone。HeaskedHelvetiusifhethoughtheshouldknowthatraregemifhesawit。TowhichHelvetiusreplied，thathecertainlyshouldnot。Theburgherimmediatelydrewfromhispocketasmallivorybox，containingthreepiecesofmetal，ofthecolourofbrimstone，andextremelyheavy；andassuredHelvetius，thatofthemhecouldmakeasmuchastwentytonsofgold。
Helvetiusinformsus，thatheexaminedthemveryattentively；andseeingthattheywereverybrittle，hetooktheopportunitytoscrapeoffaverysmallportionwithhisthumb-nail。Hethenreturnedthemtothestranger，withanentreatythathewouldperformtheprocessoftransmutationbeforehim。Thestrangerreplied，thathewasnotallowedtodoso，andwentaway。Afterhisdeparture，Helvetiusprocuredacrucibleandaportionoflead，intowhich，wheninastateoffusion，hethrewthestolengrainfromthephilosopher’sstone。Hewasdisappointedtofindthatthegrainevaporatedaltogether，leavingtheleadinitsoriginalstate。
Someweeksafterwards，whenhehadalmostforgottenthesubject，hereceivedanothervisitfromthestranger。Heagainentreatedhimtoexplaintheprocessesbywhichhepretendedtotransmutelead。Thestrangeratlastconsented，andinformedhim，thatonegrainwassufficient；butthatitwasnecessarytoenvelopeitinaballofwaxbeforethrowingitonthemoltenmetal；otherwiseitsextremevolatilitywouldcauseittogooffinvapour。Theytriedtheexperiment，andsucceededtotheirheart’scontent。Helvetiusrepeatedtheexperimentalone，andconvertedsixouncesofleadintoverypuregold。
ThefameofthiseventspreadallovertheHague，andallthenotablepersonsofthetownflockedtothestudyofHelvetiustoconvincethemselvesofthefact。Helvetiusperformedtheexperimentagain，inthepresenceofthePrinceofOrange，andseveraltimesafterwards，untilheexhaustedthewholeofthepowderhehadreceivedfromthestranger，fromwhom，itisnecessarytostate，heneverreceivedanothervisit；nordidheeverdiscoverhisnameorcondition。InthefollowingyearHelvetiuspublishedhis“GoldenCalf，“[“VitulusAureusquemMundusadoratetorat，inquotractaturdenaturaemiraculotransmutandimetalla。“——Hagae，1667。]inwhichhedetailedtheabovecircumstances。
Aboutthesametime，thecelebratedFatherKircherpublishedhis“SubterraneanWorld，“inwhichhecalledthealchymistsacongregationofknavesandimpostors，andtheirscienceadelusion。Headmittedthathehadhimselfbeenadiligentlabourerinthefield，andhadonlycometothisconclusionaftermatureconsiderationandrepeatedfruitlessexperiments。Allthealchymistswereinarmsimmediately，torefutethisformidableantagonist。OneSolomondeBlauensteinwasthefirsttograpplewithhim，andattemptedtoconvicthimofwilfulmisrepresentation，byrecallingtohismemorythetransmutationsbySendivogius，beforetheEmperorFredericIII。andtheElectorofMayence；allperformedwithinarecentperiod。ZwelferandGlauberalsoenteredintothedispute，andattributedtheenmityofFatherKirchertospiteandjealousyagainstadeptswhohadbeenmoresuccessfulthanhimself。
ItwasalsopretendedthatGustavusAdolphustransmutedaquantityofquicksilverintopuregold。ThelearnedBorrichiusrelates，thathesawcoinswhichhadbeenstruckofthisgold；andLengletduFresnoydeposestothesamecircumstance。IntheTravelsofMonconisthestoryistoldinthefollowingmanner:——“AmerchantofLubeck，whocarriedonbutlittletrade，butwhoknewhowtochangeleadintoverygoodgold，gavetheKingofSwedenalingotwhichhehadmade，weighing，atleast，onehundredpounds。TheKingimmediatelycausedittobecoinedintoducats；andbecauseheknewpositivelythatitsoriginwassuchashadbeenstatedtohim，hehadhisownarmsgravenupontheoneside，andemblematicalfiguresofMercuryandVenusontheother。“I，“
continuedMonconis，“haveoneoftheseducatsinmypossession；andwascrediblyinformed，that，afterthedeathoftheLubeckmerchant，whohadneverappearedveryrich，asumofnolessthanonemillionsevenhundredthousandcrownswasfoundinhiscoffers。“[VoyagesdeMonconis，tomeii。p。379。]
Suchstoriesasthese，confidentlyrelatedbymenhighinstation，tendedtokeepuptheinfatuationofthealchymistsineverycountryofEurope。Itisastonishingtoseethenumberofworkswhichwerewrittenuponthesubjectduringtheseventeenthcenturyalone，andthenumberofclevermenwhosacrificedthemselvestothedelusion。
GabrieldeCastaigne，amonkoftheorderofSt。Francis，attractedsomuchnoticeinthereignofLouisXIII，thatthatmonarchsecuredhiminhishousehold，andmadehimhisGrandAlmoner。Hepretendedtofindtheelixiroflife；andLouisexpected，byhismeans，tohaveenjoyedthecrownforacentury。VanHelmontalsopretendedtohaveonceperformedwithsuccesstheprocessoftransmutingquicksilver；andwas，inconsequence，invitedbytheEmperorRudolphII。tofixhisresidenceatthecourtofVienna。Glauber，theinventorofthesaltswhichstillbearhisname，andwhopractisedasaphysicianatAmsterdamaboutthemiddleoftheseventeenthcentury，establishedapublicschoolinthatcityforthestudyofalchymy，andgavelectureshimselfuponthescience。JohnJoachimBecher，ofSpire，acquiredgreatreputationatthesameperiod；andwasconvincedthatmuchgoldmightbemadeoutofflintstonesbyapeculiarprocess，andtheaidofthatgrandandincomprehensiblesubstance，thephilosopher’sstone。
HemadeapropositiontotheEmperorLeopoldofAustria，toaidhimintheseexperiments；butthehopeofsuccesswastooremote，andthepresentexpensetoogreattotemptthatmonarch；andhethereforegaveBechermuchofhispraise，butnoneofhismoney。BecherafterwardstriedtheStates-GeneralofHolland，withnobettersuccess。
Withregardtotheinnumerabletricksbywhichimpostorspersuadedtheworldthattheyhadsucceededinmakinggold，andofwhichsomanystorieswerecurrentaboutthisperiod，averysatisfactoryreportwasreadbyM。Geoffroy，theelder，atthesittingoftheRoyalAcademyofSciences，atParis，onthe15thofApril，1722。Asitrelatesprincipallytothealchymiccheatsofthesixteenthandseventeenthcenturies，thefollowingabridgmentofitmaynotbeoutofplaceinthisportionofourhistory:——Theinstancesofsuccessfultransmutationweresonumerous，andapparentlysowellauthenticated，thatnothingshortofsoableanexposureasthatofM。Geoffroycoulddisabusethepublicmind。Thetricktowhichtheyoftenesthadrecourse，wastouseadouble-bottomedcrucible，theundersurfacebeingofironorcopper，andtheupperoneofwax，paintedtoresemblethesamemetal。Betweenthetwotheyplacedasmuchgoldorsilverdustaswasnecessaryfortheirpurpose。Theythenputintheirlead，quicksilver，orotheringredients，andplacedtheirpotuponthefire。
Ofcourse，whentheexperimentwasconcluded，theyneverfailedtofindalumpofgoldatthebottom。Thesameresultwasproducedinmanyotherways。Someofthemusedahollowwand，filledwithgoldorsilverdust，andstoppedattheendswithwaxorbutter。Withthistheystirredtheboilingmetalintheircrucibles，takingcaretoaccompanytheoperationwithmanyceremonies，todivertattentionfromtherealpurposeofthemanoeuvre。Theyalsodrilledholesinlumpsoflead，intowhichtheypouredmoltengold，andcarefullyclosedtheaperturewiththeoriginalmetal。Sometimestheywashedapieceofgoldwithquicksilver。Wheninthisstatetheyfoundnodifficultyinpalmingitoffupontheuninitiatedasaninferiormetal，andveryeasilytransmuteditintofinesonorousgoldagain，withtheaidofalittleaquafortis。
Othersimposedbymeansofnails，halfironandhalfgoldorsilver。Theypretendedthattheyreallytransmutedtheprecioushalffromiron，bydippingitinastrongalcohol。M。GeoffroyproducedseveralofthesenailstotheAcademyofSciences，andshowedhownicelythetwopartsweresolderedtogether。Thegoldenorsilverhalfwaspaintedblacktoresembleiron，andthecolourimmediatelydisappearedwhenthenailwasdippedintoaquafortis。Anailofthisdescriptionwas，foralongtime，inthecabinetoftheGrandDukeofTuscany。Suchalso，saidM。Geoffroy，wastheknifepresentedbyamonktoQueenElizabethofEngland；thebladeofwhichwashalfgoldandhalfsteel。Nothingatonetimewasmorecommonthantoseecoins，halfgoldandhalfsilver，whichhadbeenoperateduponbyalchymists，forthesamepurposesoftrickery。Infact，saysM。Geoffroy，inconcludinghislongreport，thereiseveryreasontobelievethatallthefamoushistorieswhichhavebeenhandeddowntous，aboutthetransmutationofmetalsintogoldorsilver，bymeansofthepowderofprojection，orphilosophicalelixirs，arefoundeduponsomesuccessfuldeceptionofthekindabovenarrated。Thesepretendedphilosophersinvariablydisappearedafterthefirstorsecondexperiment，ortheirpowdersorelixirshavefailedtoproducetheireffect，eitherbecauseattentionbeingexcitedtheyhavefoundnoopportunitytorenewthetrickwithoutbeingdiscovered，orbecausetheyhavenothadsufficientgolddustformorethanonetrial。
Thedisinterestednessofthesewould-bephilosopherlooked，atfirstsight，extremelyimposing。Instanceswerenotrare，inwhichtheygenerouslyabandonedalltheprofitsoftheirtransmutations-
eventhehonourofthediscovery！Butthisapparentdisinterestednesswasoneofthemostcunningoftheirmanoeuvres。Itservedtokeepupthepopularexpectation；itshowedthepossibilityofdiscoveringthephilosopher’sstone，andprovidedthemeansoffutureadvantages，whichtheywereneverslowtolayholdof——suchasentrancesintoroyalhouseholds，maintenanceatthepublicexpense，andgiftsfromambitiouspotentates，toogreedyafterthegoldtheysoeasilypromised。
Itnowonlyremainstotracetheprogressofthedelusionfromthecommencementoftheeighteenthcenturyuntilthepresentday。Itwillbeseen，thatuntilaveryrecentperiod，therewerebutslightsignsofareturntoreason。