Volume 1

The year book of daily recreation and information ... on the plan of the 'Every-day book and table book.' / [William Hone].

  • William Hone
Date:
1832
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The year book of daily recreation and information ... on the plan of the 'Every-day book and table book.' / [William Hone]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    trencher. a crumb of this stone; and, at last, out of his philosophical commiseration, he gave me a morsel as large as a rape-seed ; but, I said, this scanty portion will scarcely transmute four grains of gold. Then, said he, deliver it me back ; which I did, in hopes of a greater parcel; but he, cutting off half with his nail, said, even this is sufficient for thee. Sir, said I, with a dejected countenance, what means this? And he said, even that will trans- mute half an ounce of lead. So I gave him great thanks, and said I would try it, and reveal it to no one. He then took his leave, and said he would call again next morning at nine.—I then confessed that while the mass of his medicine was in my hand, the day before, I had secretly scraped off a bit with my nail, which I projected on lead, but it caused no transmutation, for the whole flew away in fumes. Friend, said he, thou art more dexterous in com- mitting theft than in applying medicine ; hadst. thou wrapt up thy stolen prey in yellow wax, it would have penetrated, and transmuted the lead into gold. I then asked if the philosophic work cost much, or required long time; for philoso- phers say that nine or ten months are required for it. He answered, their writings are only to be understood by the adepts, without whom no student can pre- pare this magistery; fling not away, therefore, thy money and goods in hunting out this art, for thou shalt never find it. To which I replied, as thy master showed it to thee, so mayest thou, perchance, dis- cover something thereof to me, who know the rudiments, and therefore it may be easier to add to a foundation than begin anew. In this art, said he, it is quite otherwise ; for, unless thou knowest the thing from head to heel,thou canst not break open the glassy seal of Hermes. But enough,—to-morrow, at the ninth hour, I will show thee the manner of projection. But Elias never came again; so my wife, who was curious in the art whereof the worthy man had discoursed, teazed me to make the experiment with the little spark of bounty the artist had left me; so I melted half an ounce of lead, upon which my wife put in the said medicine ;-it hissed and bubbled, and in a quarter of an hour the mass of lead was transmuted into fine gold,at which we were exceedingly amazed. I took it to the goldsmith, who judged it most excellent, and willingly offered fifty florins for each ounce.” h. m. January 3.—-Day breaks . Sau Sun rises 8 3 —sets. .. 3 57 Twilight ends . Oe 8 The laurentinus flowers, if mild. The Persian fleur de lis flowers in the house, PHanuaryp 4. Tennis, &c. On the 4th of January 1664, Mr. Pepys went “ to the tennis-court, and there saw the king (Charles II.) play at tennis. But,” says Pepys, “ to see how the king’s play was extolled, without any cause ‘at all, was a loathsome sight; though some- times, indeed, he did play very well, and deserved to be commended; but such open flattery is beastly.* Afterwards. to St. James’s park, seeing people play at pall mall.” : Pall- Mall. The most common memorial of this diversion is the street of that name, once appropriated to its use, as was likewise the Mall, which runs parallel with it, in St. James’s park. . From the following quotations, Mr. Nares believes that the place for playing was called the Mall, and the stick employed, the pall-mall. “ If one had a paille-maile, it were good to play in this ally; for it is of a reasonable good length, straight, and even.”+ Again, “a stroke with a pail-mail bettle upon a bowl] makes it fly from it.” { Yet, Evelyn speaks twice of Pall-mall, as a place for playing in; although he calls such a place. at Toms’ a mall only.§ On the 4th of January, 1667, Mr. Pe- pys had company to dinner; and “ at night to sup, and then to cards, and, last of all, to have a flaggon of ale and apples, drunk out of a wood cup, as a Christmas draught, which made all merry.” Cups. About thirty years before Mr. Secretary Pepys took his Christmas draught “ out * For Tennis, &c., see Strutt’s Sports and Pastimes of the People of England, by W. Hone, 8vo., p. 93. _ + French Garden for English Ladies, 1621. ¢ Digby on the Soul. § Concerning the Sport called Pall-Mall, see Strutt’s Sports, 8vo. p. 103.