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Leader (1850-1860), 19th July 1851, Edition Town of 2, Page 683

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      ciple of madder , or the valuable remedies known as quinine and morphine . All these things are either as precious or more useful than gold . Every one is occupied in the attempt to discover them , and yet this is the occupation of no individual inquirer . All are occupied with these things , inasmuch as they study the laws of the changes and transformations to which matter is subject ; and yet no one individual is specially engaged in these reseaches , inasmuch as devotes life and to

      no one , for example , Jus energies the solution of the problem of making diamonds or quinine . Did such a man exist , furnished with the necessary knowledge , and with the courage and perseverance of the old gold-makers , he would have a good prospect of being enabled to splve such problems . The latest discoveries on the constitution * nd production of the organic bases permit us to believe all this , without giving to any one the right to ridicule us as makers of gold . "

      Nay , he adds : — " The philosopher ' s stone , for which the ancients sought with a dim and ill-defined impulse , was , in its perfection , nothing else than the science of chemistry . Is that not the philosopher ' s stone which promises to increase the fertility of our fields and to insure the prosperity of additional millions of mankind ? Does not chemistry promise that instead of

      Beven grains we shall be enabled to raise eight or more on the same soil ? Is that science not the philosopher's stone which changes the ingredients of the crust of the earth into useful products , to be further transformed , by commerce , into gold } Is that knowledge not the philosopher ' s stone which promises to disclose to us the laws of life , and which must finally yield to us the means of curing diseases and of prolonging life ?"

      One more curious passage we must give :- — " That which chiefly excites our wonder is , that the existence of the philosopher ' s stone should have been regarded , for so many centuries , as a truth established beyond all doubt , while yet no one possessed it , and each adept only maintained that it was in the possession of another . " Who , indeed , could entertain a doubt , after Yan Helmont had declared , in 161 . 8 , that on several occasions there had been sent to him , from an unknown hand , one-fourth of a grain of the precious material , with which he had converted into pure gold eight

      ounces of quicksilver ? Did not Helvetius , the distinguished body physician to the Prince of Orange , and the bitter opponent of alchemy , himself relate , in his Vitulus aurcus quern mundus adorat et orat , ( 1667 ) , that he had obtained the most convincing proofs of the existence of the philosopher ' s stone ? For he , the sceptic , had received , from a stranger , a fragment of thu size of half a rape seed , and therewith , in presence of his wife and son , had transmuted six drachms of lead into gold , whioh stood the tests applied to it by the Warden of the Mint at the HaTue ! Were not two pounds and a half of quicksilver

      converted into pure gold , of which a large medal was struck ( Kopp . Gcsehichteder Chemie IV . 171 ) , with the figure of the God of Day ( Sol or gold ) holding the c . uluccus of Mercury , to indicate the origin of the precious intta ^ , and the legend Divina Metamorphosis exhibita Prngae , xv . Jan ., An . mdcxlviii . in pr « j > entia Snn . ( . « . Mnj . Fertlinandi Tertii , &c . ? Was not this done at Prague , in presence of the Emperor Ferdinand III . ( 1 G 37-1057 ) by the burgomaster , Count Von Ituss , with the aid of one grain * of n red powder , which he had received from a certain ltichtiiausen , and lie again from un unknown ! ( Accoiding to J . F . Ginelin , this medal was still

      extant m 1797 , m the treasury at Vienna . ) The land grave of Hesse D . irmstadt also , Ernst Ludwig , as we are told b y the alchemists , received , from an unknown hand , a packet containing red and white tincture , with directions for their use . Ducats were coined of the gold which had been made from lead «> y this means , and from the silver thus obtained were coined tho Hessian specie dollars ( S pecie * thaler ) of 17 7 , on which i 8 the legend Sic Deo nlacuit in Tribulationibus . ( Kopp . II . 172 . )" And . since we are touching on curious passages , let us not forget this piquant one . —

      MAN 18 OP AIR ! " . Science hn . s demonstrated that man , the bein K W"O Performs all these wonders , is formed of contensed air ( or solidified and liquefied gases ) ; that he *» v . is on condens ed as well as uncondensed air and clothes himBelf in condensed air ; that he iircpiires us lood by mennrf of condensed air , and , by meant * of u » i ! wiiiio a ent , moves the heaviest weijijhtH with the velocity ot the wind . JJut the Htran » e . at part of ihe matter m , j * hat thousands of these tiihcrmu : lca fornuul «> l condensed uir > ant i goingOU Uvo \ c ^ occasionally , »» u on account of the production and ' supply of those imniH < , t condensed air which they require for food "" I clothing , or on account of -their honour nml power , , , "v «;»« h other in pitched buttle * by means of omu-nscd air ; and further , that iniuiy helicve the ii , l . y ? wvm of tho bodiless , conw-ious , thinking ami fi ( . tlvo b ( . i |) gi houfUid jn thi , tlllH > 1 . . > tf > & turn , ! l Kim ^ of ita internal structure , and the « rran Kement ofita particlea or atoms ; while chcmiBtry I

      supplies the clearest proof , that , as far as concerns this the ultimate and most minute composition and structure , which is beyond the reach of our senses , man is , to all appearance , identical with the ox , or with the animal lowest in the scale of creation . " To return , to the alchemists : Liebig has stated with great sagacity their position in the history of science , and has traced the issues of their labours . He rightly observes , that the notion of the Philosopher ' s stone as an universal medicine , led the way to chemical preparations in medicine , and thus began a new era in science . To estimate the imrevolution thus effected ? rns and 8 e 8 , , or ted t of irs . so- ; a , y lus m- [ j

      mensity of the , we must remember that the opinions of Galen had reigned as indisputable truths during thirteen centuriesit was heresy , it was madness to doubt them . Galen was the Aristotle of medicine . He prohibited all metallic preparations ; in his pharmacopoeia none but organic substances were admitted ; and the least familiar with such matters will see at once the extension given to the pharmacopoeia by the introduction of chemical preparations : whether for good or evil , we decide not ! Enough that Paracelsus effected a revolution by making chemistry the handmaid to medicine . We must break off here , reserving for a second paper the further consideration of this volume . I S £ led i— m . ro- ia _ L ( j _ , rs ' a- t ! jy " ' **

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      POEMS BY ERNEST JONES . Poems , and Notes to the People . By Ernest Jones ,. of the Middle Temple , Barrister-at-Law , Author of The Wood Spirit . Lord Lindsay , My Life , &c . JR . Pavey . If Ernest Jones has no other ambition than to make verse the vehicle for popularizing certain convictions—if he only desire to make poetry an elegant kind of journalism—then indeed we have nothing to say against the course he is at present pursuing . But if"it be otherwise—if Hi following the laborious delights of Art , he claims to take his seat among the Poets—then we , in ¦ d 7 ' j . ' " a

      all friendliness and sincerity , tell him that , had Nature endowed him with genius far greater than he can boast , he would be throwing away his chance by such inconsiderate haste and such laxity of self-criticism as he exhibits in these Poems , and Notes to the People . How can he expect to continue the weekly publication of twenty full doublecolumned pages of prose and verse and preserve anything like a high standard ? The pen of a ready writer may suffice for that quantity of passable prose ; but verse ! The very attempt argues a want of proper respect for Art . 1 i C i ;

      This it is which makes us hesitate . All that we could say to him on the score of his carelessness and commonplace he might receive with an indifferent shrug , intimating tint he was perfectly aware of it all—that the " art to blot" had never been studied by him—that he thought only of a hasty effect on a hasty reader—that the perfection of form , which constitutes Art , demands infinitely more labour and more time than he could spare from other things to bestow on it—and ( hat he publishes his verses as they are written , good , and bad together , more like improvisations than like works . All this the poetic journalist might with

      some reason retort uijon any close criticism . We acknowledge the force of it ; but in registering the plea we . cannot help saying that , unless the absolute perfection of furm be striven after by the ; poet , it seems to us a waste of time and elFort to write verse at all . Bestow your days and nights in subduing the marble to your inspirations of beauty , and the success repays the labour ; but do not waste the long winter in carving a statue from a block of ioe , which the first warmth of spring wll breathe into formless water ! If Poetry is worth writing at all , it is worth writing with all your soul , with all your heart , and with all your strength . If it ii * not exquisite , it i « useless .

      The Chartist leader may snap his fingers at Parnassun , and declare that life has other aims for him than the perfectioning of hLs verse . lie it « o And let us see what vision and what faculty divine these hasty poems show . For that Krne . st Jones has a real faculty in him we will prove to you immediately by a long quotation ; you may say that tho faculty seems rather rhetorical than creative , but you Avill not deny the energy , the compac tness ^ the lyrical rhythm , and the facility which characterize him . Tho extract shall be from lidda ^ an Church , the best of his poems we have Been Having firat described tho Walk to Church and the Kitual of Nature in varying measures ho comes to "THE SERVICE . " rri tlie cIlurcllyar <]'« elmen sluido Olitterlng chariot * atand urraved :

      The coachmen on the boxes nod ; The horses paw the sacred sod ; And round the porch are laughing loud The lounging lacqueys' liveried crowd . But now , behold , we are within , 1 Safe from sunshine and from . sm . I « Silks have rustled , fans have fluttered ; I Sneers and compliments been uttered ; J And many found , as find they ought , j In church the object that they sought ; I Business finds a turn in trade ; J Praise , its victim ; wit , its butt ; j New acquaintance have been made ; I ' ^^ acquaintances been cut . j " Shivering on the naked floor , I By the cold'denying door , I And where the dralty windows soar J The dust encumbered galleries o ' er , Stand the hundreds of the poor . Those , at least , who still can wear A coat that is not worn too bare , For rags are never suffered there , I j " Now the congregation ' s seated , And the church is growing heated With a heavy perfumed air Of scents , and salts , and vinegar . j The morning prayers are ending ; I The psalmody ' s ascending ; I The great men , lowly bending , j Turn . their gilded leaves about , j Most ostentatiously devout , " Then , like the flutter of a full pit When a favourite passage comes , As the Bishop mounts the pulpit Sink the whispers , coughs , and hums ; And , here and there , a scattered sinner Rising in the House of God , Shews he . Knows the Rosy , Cosy , Dosy , Prosy , Bishop with a smile and nod . " The Prelate bows his cushioned knee ; Oh , the Prelate ' s fat to see ; Fat , the priests who minister , Fat , each roaring chorister , Prebendary , Deacon , Lector , Chapter , Chanter , "Vicar , Rector , Curate , ChapLun , Dean , and Pastor , Verger , Sexton , Clerk , . Schoolmaster . From mitre tall , to gold-laced hat , Fat ' s the place—and all are fat . " The Bishop rises from his knee , And thus begins his homily ; — " thk uisiror or huldagon ' s sermon . " Sink and tremble , wretched sinners ; the Almighty X . ord has hurled Ilia curse for everlasting on a lost and guilty world ! Upon the ground beneath your feet ; upon the sky above your head ; Upon the womb lliat brings you forth ; upon the toil that gives . you bread ! On all that lives , and breathes , and moves , in earth , and air , and wave ; On nil that feels , and dreams , and thinks ; on cradle * house , arul grave . For Adam murdered innocence , —and since tho world became its he arse , Throughout the living sphere extending breeds and spread : ) { he dreiulful eurse . The seasons thro' Creation bear our globe continually , To shew its shame to every fltar that frowns from tl e recoiling sky ; And pavnge comets come and gaze , nnd fly in horror from the sight , To tell it through unfathomed distance tc eich undiscovered light . Sin , its ghuatly wound : nflieting , damns ua to eternal pain — And from the heart of human nature flows an everbleeding vein . You may blame your institutions , blame your masters , rulers , kings : This is idle : ' tis the curse eternal , festering ns it clings . Change them—nw «* ep them to destruction , as tho l > il" low Bwecpu the tihore ; Misery , pain , and death tho eurse—tho curse will ; ; ' ' tomkle but the nu . re . If it-were not thu . s , in nature- you would surely mtnesH Joy — Ga& ( T around you , and behold the novel-een » ingcursa destroy : Flower and leaf , und blade and bloMBom languish in . h slow dcciiv ; Fifth on rlnh , and bird on bird , and beaut on beatt unceasing prey .

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      Sly 19 , 1851 . ] ffj&tf VLtaXlt X * 683

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), July 19, 1851, page 683, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1892/page/15/