"But not the virtue, taste, or juice."
Rochos, equally absurd with Borello, says, in The Art of Nature, that the ashes of toads will produce the very same effect, as the powder of crabs' eyes! Reasoning upon that ridiculous and unnatural principle of Cæsalpinus, in his comment on Aristotle, Quæcumque ex semine fiunt, eadem fieri posse sine semine, the procreation of eels from rye-meal, or mutton broth was predicated.
Julius Camillus, however, would out-do nature herself; for Amatus Lusitanus affirms, that he has seen his phials full of homunculi complete in all their parts! Paracelsus (De Rerum Natura,) had the same and many other absurd notions. What, we may truly say, has not been palmed upon the world, when we are told, that the following translation from a Hague Gazette, which appeared in the British Evening Post, No. 1645, contained facts, which were confidently believed by the ignorant:
"Mr. Tunestrick, by origin an Englishman, has just exhibited at Versailles, a very singular experiment. He opened the head of a sheep, and a horse from side to side, by driving a large iron wedge into the skull, by means of a mallet; drew the wedge out afterwards, with pincers, and recalled the animals to life, by injecting through their exterior aperture with a tin syringe, a spirituous liquor of his own composition, to which he attributes surprising effects! The taste of this liquor resembles that of Commandus Balm!!" The remarkable effects of galvanism, however, are well authenticated; but resuscitation, notwithstanding all apparent life, has in no instance, to our knowledge, been effected. (See Ure's Chemical Dictionary, article Galvanism.)
Among other tricks, we may mention those with serpents, especially in the East Indies, and neighbouring islands, where a certain class of people exhibit them for money.[12]
Persons who could walk over red-hot coals, or red-hot iron, or who could hold them in their hands and their teeth, are frequently mentioned. In the end of the 17th century, Richardson, an Englishman, was a great adept in this performance. We are assured he could chew burning coals, pour melted lead upon his tongue, swallow melted glass, &c; but the fact is incredible.
It is true, that the skin may be prepared in such a way as to become callous and insensible against the impression made on the feet and hands. It may be rendered as firm as shoes and gloves. Such callosity may be produced, if the skin is continually compressed, singed, pricked, or injured in any other manner. Beckman relates, that in 1765, he visited the copper-works at Awestad, when one of the workmen, for some money, took some of the melted copper in his hand, and after showing it, threw it against a wall. He performed a variety of other experiments with the melted metal.
The workmen at the Swedish melting-house have exhibited the same thing to some travellers in the 17th century. The skin is first rendered callous by frequently moistening it, as Beckman says, with sulphuric acid; and also, he remarks, by using the juice of certain plants. The skin must also be rubbed frequently, and for a long time, with oil. Haller, in his Elementa Physiologica, V. p. 16, speaks of this fact.
The manner of rendering the hands callous, or insensible, so that they may take up, and hold, ignited iron, charcoal, or other substances, may be seen in an English publication of 1667. The Journal des Savants, of 1677, contains the secret. "It consists in applying to the hands, various pastes, with spirits of sulphur, (sulphuric acid,) which destroys the epidermis, &c. and the nervous energy." This corroborates the account by Beckman. We read that Richardson had prepared his tongue in such a manner, that he could hold on the point of it a live coal, covering it first with pitch, rosin, and sulphur, and could hold a piece of ignited iron between his teeth. After showing the coal on his tongue, he would then extinguish it in his mouth. The Mémoires de l'Académie state, that a person who is salivated can put a live coal in his mouth. The Dictionnaire de l'Industrie observes, that the sulphur diminishes the heat of the coal, for the flame is less hot than a candle; and that the flame of a combination of pitch, rosin, and sulphur, is still less hot, and by no means so considerable as we would imagine. In the experiment, the rosin is not melted, and the flame of the sulphur is inconsiderable. M. Gallois observes, that he witnessed in the Swedish iron founderies, the men hold melted cast iron in their hands, doubtless having them previously prepared.