To the IV. (Primary) Title OF THE History of Humane Blood,

To the V. Title OF THE HISTORY.

SInce Humane Blood does in Distil­lation afford a not inconsiderable quantity of Oyl, one may well suppose it to be a Combustible Body: but every one will not think it so Inflammable, as upon Tryal purposely made I found it to be. For having taken a piece of Humane Blood dryed till it was al­most pulverable, and held it in the flame of a Candle, it would take fire, and afford a Flame much like that which excited it, burning with a crackling noise (much like that of Sea Salt cast into the Fire) and here and there melting. But the Inflammable­ness of such dryed Blood did much better appear, when putting together 4 or 5 throughly kindled Coals, we laid on them a piece of dry'd Blood [Page 32] of the bigness of a small Nutmeg, or thereabouts, for this yielded a copious and very yellow Flame, and if it were seasonably and warily blown from time to time, as the Effluvia dege­nerated into smoak, it would by these frequent re-accensions continue to yield clear and Yellow Flames of no contemptible bigness (in proportion to the Body that yielded them) much longer than one would expect. And during a good part of this Deflagra­tion, the Blood appeared as it were to fry upon the Coals, and in good part to melt into a Black substance almost like Pitch. There was also a crackling noise produc'd, like that which Chymists observe when they decrepitate common Salt.

These Experiments for the sub­stance were repeated. But I shewed another Instance of the Inflammable­ness of Blood, that was somewhat surprising. For, having caus'd some Humane Blood (being part of the same that was made use of in the [Page 33] foregoing Tryals) to be so far dry'd that it was reducible to fine Pow­der, I took some of this Powder that had past through a fine Search, and casting it through the Flame of a good Candle, the grains in their quick Passage through it took fire, and the Powder flash'd, not without noise, as if it had been Ro­sin. This Experiment was reiterated with success.

To the VII. Title OF THE HISTORY.

THE specific Gravity of Humane Blood is more difficult to be [...]etermin'd, than one would readily [...]magine. For the Gravity of Blood may differ sensibly in several persons [Page 34] according to their Sex, Age, Constitu­tion, &c. And in the same person it may be varyed by the time of the year, and of the day, and by being drawn at a greater or lesser distance from a Meal, and by divers other Circumstances. But besides all these things there is a Mechanical difficul­ty, if I may so call it, that attends the work we are speaking of. For the Blood begins to coagulate so soon af­ter it is emitted, that 'tis scarce a practicable thing to weigh it hydro­statically, either by immersing into it a Solid Body heavier than it self or by weighing the whole Blood in Water; the former way being oppo­sed by the fibrous part of the Blood, and the latter by the Serum. And up­on the same account it is somewhat (though not so much) difficult to compare with any accurateness, the weight of Blood, with that of water in a Glass, as also for other reasons which he that shall considerately go about to try it, will quickly find [Page 35] But however, since it may be a thing of considerable use, to have some tolerable Estimate, though nor an exact one, of the difference in Gra­vity between Water and Humane Blood, by which so many parts of the Body, consistent as well as fluid, are by various changes of Tex­ture both constituted and nourished. I shall subjoyn a Tryal, that this consideration invited me to make as well as I could. We took the Blood of a sound man emitted all at one time, and put the whole mass of it, as well the Serous as the Fibrous part, into an oblong Glass, of the fittest size and shape we could light on amongst several. And have­ing suffered the Blood to rest till all was setled, and the many Bubbles vanished, we carefully mark'd with a Diamond that narrower part of the Glass, which the upper surface of the Blood reach'd to. Then we weighed the Glass and the Blood in a very good Ballance and having [Page 36] poured out the Blood (for other uses) and washed the Glass, it was filled with common Water to the lately mentioned Mark, and then weighed again in the same Ballance; afterwards the Water being poured out, the Glass alone was Counterpoi­sed in the same scales, and its weight being deducted from each of the two formerly mentioned weights, the Wa­ter was found to have weighed ℥ix. ʒvi. 50. Gr. And the Blood (equal to it in bulk) to have weigh'd ℥x. ʒij. 4. Gr. So that the difference between them being ʒiij. 14. gr. the Blood was beavier than so much Water, but about the 25th part (for I o­mit the Fraction) of its own weight. But this Experiment, for the Reasons above intimated, deserves to be reite­rated more than once.

To the XI. Title OF THE HISTORY.

THough rectified Spirit of Wine be a Menstruum con­sisting of very subtil parts, and upon that account be a good Dis­solvent of divers Vegetable Sub­stances, and as Experience has assured me, of some Metalline ones too, that seem to be more so­lid than the Fibrous part of Hu­mane Blood; yet looking upon this Body as of a very differing texture from those, I thought Spirit of Wine might have a very differ­ing Operation upon it. And accor­dingly having separated from the [Page 38] Serum a clot of Blood, that was coa­gulated but soft enough, as the Fi­brous part uses to be before 'tis dryd, I kept it for divers hours in a very well dephlegmed Vinous Spirit, from whence I afterwards took it out as hard as if it had been well dry'd by the fire.

To the XIX. Title OF THE HISTORY,

To the XXI. Title OF THE HISTORY,

To the XXII. Title OF THE HISTORY.

I do not remember to have met with, in any Author, an account of the Qualities of the fix'd Salt of Humane Blood, and I know not whether any have had the curiosity to prepare it, whereat I do not much wonder, since to obtain so much as ℥j. Of it there is requisite a considera­ble [Page 57] quantity, perhaps some pounds of Blood, and the Calcination re­quires so obstinate a fire, that a mans patience may easily be tired before the Operation be perfected, or by the small appearance of Calcination that the Caput Mortuum will afford him after having been kept Three or Four hours in the fire, he may be induc'd to conclude that all the Salt of Blood is volatile in a good Fire, and conse­quently, that it will yield no fix'd Salt.

But having by an obstinate Calci­nation obtain'd between Three or Four Drams of this Salt, I found not that it was a fix'd Alcaly or a Lixi­viate Salt, but rather as I expected, of the nature of common or Sea-Salt, thô not without some little diversity which discover'd itself by some nice Tryals. But as to the main our Salt was scarce distinguishable from ma­rin Salt, for it tasted very like it, a strong Solution of it did not readily (for I was not at leisure to wait [Page 58] long for the Event) turn Syrup of Violets green or greenish, nor (which was more) Precipitate a Brick Colour or brownish Yellow, no more than a white Powder, out of Solution of Sub­limate. I also found by Tryal that the Spirit of Salt did not dissolve it as an Alcaly. And to these ways of exa­mining it I added three others, that I had not known us'd for such a pur­pose, and which had all three of them such Events as were expected, for having put some Oyl of Vitriol upon a little of our dry Salt, it did imme­diately, as I had divers times obser­v'd it to do upon common Salt, corrode it with great violence, and with much foam and smoak. We also drop'd a little of our fix't Salt dissolved in di­stilled water, upon a Solution of fine Silver made in Aqua Fortis, whereupon immediately ensued a Precipitation of a copious white Powder. And lastly for further Tryal, having put some leaf Gold into Aqua fortis, which would not (as will easily be [Page 59] believ'd) work upon it, whilst it was swimming there without being so much as discolour'd, I put a little of our Powder'd Salt into the Liquor, which being thereby turned into a kind of Aqua Regia, did in a trice, without the assistance of heat, totally dissolve it.

To the XXIII. Title OF THE HISTORY OF Humane Blood.

THere is a far greater Calcination than one would expect, re­quired to obtain the Caput Mortuum [Page 60] of Humane Blood, which affords but very little of it. For from ℥xxiv. of dry'd Blood, (which perhaps was but the Third or Fourth part, in weight of the entire Blood that af­forded it) we could get after two days Calcination but ʒij.9 gr. of Earth. And though this were so carefully made that it may very probably be supposed to deserve the name of Ter­ra Damnata, better then most substan­ces to which Chymists are wont to give that appellation, yet one may suspect, that this it self was not pure Elementary earth, since it had a red colour, very like that of Colcotar of Vitriol.

To the VXXI. Title OF THE HISTORY.

THe Quantities of the Principles, or rather of the Several differ­ing Substances, obtain'd by Distilla­tion from Humane Blood, may seem easy, but is indeed very difficult, if at all possible, to be determin'd not only because of the sometimes great dis­parity, as to proportion, that may be met with of the Fibrous, or con­creted part to the Serum, in the Blood of differing Persons, and even of the same Person according to dif­fering Circumstances, but also, be­cause it is more difficult to distill e­ven the dryed and pulverable part of Blood without addition, than those [Page 62] that have not try'd, will easily judge, and I doubt that few have try'd it well, because I have not met with any that takes notice of the necessity of shifting the Retort, to gain as much Volatile Substance as may be obtain'd, and leave as little as may be in the Caput Mortuum. For when we distill'd a somewhat considerable quantity of dry'd Blood, though it was warily done by an expert Ar­tist, yet the same heat, that made the lower part of the Blood pass in the form of Exhalations into the Recei­ver, made the matter so swell, that it heav'd up to the upper part of the vessel a considerable quantity of Black Matter, which an ordinary Di­stiller would have taken and thrown aside for Caput Mortuum, but which an heedful Eye might easily discern to be much of the same nature with what it was, when it was first put in, though it were blackened by the as­cending fumes. Wherefore we took it out and mixing it with the remain­ing [Page 63] Substance, that was less remote from the Nature of a true Caput Mor­tuum, it was again in another Retort committed to Distillation, whereby we obtain'd more Oyl, &c. And per­ceiving that even this seeming Ca­put Mortuum, had at the top of it a pretty deal of matter, that I did not think sufficiently dispirited, if I may so speak, I caused it to be taken out and distill'd in a fresh Retort, in which it afforded a not contemptible quanti­ty of Volatile matter.

Having thus prepar'd you not to ex­pect any thing of accurateness, in the determination of the Quantities of the differing substances obtainable even from dryed Humane Blood, that I may assist you to make some guess at it, that may approach somewhat [...]ear the truth, I will inform you, That having thus in three Retorts distill'd 24 Ounces of dryed Hu­mane Blood, we obtained of Volatile [...]ubstances, I mean Spirit together with a little Phlegm, white Salt, and [Page 64] very high coloured Oyl ℥xiij. and a dram, besides several Parcels of thick Oyl, that stuck to the Retorts and the Receiver, which we estimated at Se­ven drams more. So that the whole quantity of the Volatile part amount­ed to Fourteen Ounces, of which we found the Oyl to be about ℥iij. + ʒvj. And the clear Liquor (which though probably not without some Phlegm, may deserve the name of Spirit, be­cause it was fully satiated with Saline and Spirituous parts) to be ℥vi +. ʒiijss. besides the Volatile Salt, which when the Spirit was drain'd from it, appear'd white, but wet; for which reason 'twas not possible to determine exactly, neither how much Liquor it yet retain'd, nor con­sequently how much it self weighed but you may guess pretty near the truth when I shall have told you, that having carefully sublim'd the Salt, there remain'd in the glass ʒij and about five grains of Phlegmatick Li­quor, which was not judged devoid [Page 65] of Salt, thô it could not by that ope­ration be separated. And of Vola­tile Salt in a dry form we obtain'd ℥j + ʒijss. The Caput Mortuum a­mounted to ℥viij, and somewhat bet­ter, which being calcin'd for two days together, afforded not white, but only brownish red Ashes; whence we obtain'd ʒvij and a quarter of White and Fixt, Note: Of this Salt see the Notes re­ferr'd to the 22d Title. but not truly Lixi­viate, Salt, and (as was lately noted to another purpose, under the next foregoing Title) ʒij, and nine grains of Earth. In this troublesom Experiment there occurr'd so many necessary Opera­tions, in each of which we could scarce possibly avoid losing some, and now and then a considerable portion of the matters we handled, that if you had been present at the Tryals, perhaps you would not think it strange that I should write, (as I did a little above) that I think it a very difficult thing in Practice, to deter­mine [Page 66] exactly the Proportions of the differing Substances, that may be chy­mically obtain'd by vulgarly known Operations, from a proposed parcel of Humane Blood; especially since I think that 'tis without sufficient grounds that Chymists do universal­ly take it for granted, that in Distil­lations carefully made, the matter that passes into the Receiver, or at least ascends, together with the Re­mains, or Caput Mortuum, amount to just the weight that the entire Bo­dy had before Distillation. Which Paradox I endeavour to make highly probable, if not certain, in another Paper, that belongs not to the pre­sent Collection.

The I. (Secondary) Title. Whether Humane Blood may be so or­der'd by Fermentation, or Putre­faction, as that in Distillation a Spirit either Ʋrinous or Vinous, may ascend before the Phlegm.

IT is not unlike, that you will think the Question propos'd in this Title, more curious than neces­sary; and I shall not quarrel with you if you do so. But that you may not think it groundless, I desire two things may be consider'd; first, how ordinary it is, especially since the Learned Dr. Willis's Writings came to be applauded, to look upon Fevers as inordinate Fermentations of the Blood. And the second, that tho Humane Urine, which has a great cognation with the Humane Blood, will not, whilst fresh, afford by Di­stillation [Page 103] a Spirit or Volatile Salt, till the Phlegm be first drawn off, and then requires a good Fire to make it rise; yet, if it be kept for a compe­tent time (which usually amounts to divers weeks) in Fermentation, (as Chymists commonly call that, which in this case I would rather stile Pu­trefaction) the Spirit and Volatile Salt will with a gentle Fire ascend, be­fore much, if not before any Phlegm.

These two Considerations, as I was intimating, may keep that from being thought a groundless Question, which has been above propos'd. And, thô I more incline to the Ne­gative than to the Affirmative, at least as to the first part or member of the Question, yet I thought it well deserv'd to be determin'd, if it may be, by Experiment. But for want of a sufficient quantity of Blood, and good luck in making Tryals with that I could procure, I must suspend my Judgment, till further Experi­ence resolve me one way or other. [Page 104] By what I have yet try'd, I am not much encourag'd to expect from Humane Blood a Vinous or Ardent Spirit, thô that be the usual product of Fermentation in Liquors, and I am the less encourag'd to expect this, because I am not sure that there is any Fermentation truly & properly so call'd in Humane Blood, either within or out of the Body; having never yet found any thing in the Blood, or Urine, that convinc'd me, that either of those Liquors would afford an ardent Spirit. I remember I once kept Humane Blood for a year together, in a Glass very carefully, and if I mistake not, Hermetically clos'd, with a purpose to try, whe­ther any Spirits would first ascend. But when the Blood came to be ex­pos'd to the contact of the Air, the stink was so great and offensive, es­pecially to some Ladies that liv'd in the house, that we were fain to have it hastily thrown away. Another time, having caus'd some Sheeps [Page 105] Blood to be digested in a pretty large Vial Hermetically sealed, after it had continued a good while in the Digestive Furnace, upon a sudden, thô no Body touched it, it broke with a surprizing noise, and blew off the long neck of the Vial. Two or three almost like mischances I had with Attempts made on Hu­mane Blood, which I was the more troubled at, because I thought it not very improbable, that by Putrefacti­on the Texture of Blood, like that of Urine, may be so loosen'd or other­wise alter'd, that a Volatile Salt or Spirit may in a slow distillation as­cend before the Phlegm. But, as I said before, 'tis only from further Experi­ence that I must expect Satisfaction in these Enquiries.

Yet in the mean time I shall add on this occasion, That the ill success I had in my Attempts to draw a Spirit from entire Portions of Blood, without separating any part from it, or adding any foreign Body to it, [Page 106] did not hinder, but rather invite, me to try, whether I could not make some Experiment of affinity to those above mentioned upon whose success I might ground some kind of Con­jecture, what would have been the Events of those Tryals, in case they had not miscarryed. Wherefore look­ing upon the Serum of Blood as the likelyest part of it, as well as much more likely than the entire Blood, to concur to a Fermentation properly so call'd; we took some Ounces of this Serum, and put to it about a fourth part of Raisins (of the Sun) well bruis'd, and kept them in a Glass, whereof a considerable part was left empty, and having clos'd the Vessel, we kept it in a warm room for many days. The Event of this Tryal was, that within few days the Raisins began to emerge, and af­terwards continued to float; and there was produc'd or extricated a considerable quantity of permanent and Springy Air, as by a certain Con­trivance [Page 107] described in another Paper, did manifestly appear. Both which Phaenomena seem'd plainly to argue, that there had been some degree of Fermentation produc'd in the mix­ture. But yet when we came to distill the thus alter'd Serum, thô it did not stink, as if it had putrefied it would have done, yet the Liquor that first ascended, even with a gentle heat, did not tast or smell like a Vinous Spirit, thô it was differing from meer Phlegm. If I had been furnish­ed with a greater quantity of Serum, perhaps the reiterated Experiment would have given more satisfaction; and in making it I would have been careful to observe, whether the pro­duc'd Fermentation might not be suspected to proceed not so much from the whole Serum as such, as from the Aqueous Particles, in di­stinction from the others that con­cur'd with them to compose it.

As for the Second Question intima­ted in this present First Title, name­ly, [Page 108] whether Blood will by Digestion or Putrefaction be so opened, as that when it is distill'd, the Spirit will as­cend before the Phelgm: I likewise endeavour'd to try, That, with the Serous part of the Blood pour'd off from the Fibrous or Coagulated, as supposing it in this separated state, more proper for our Tryal than the en­tire Blood: and having kept a pretty quantity of this Serum above four times as long, as I had observ'd to have been sufficient, to make Urine in Distilla­tion part with its Spirit before its Phlegm; we distill'd this long kept Li­quor with a very gentle sire, that few or none besides the fugitive parts might at first ascend. But we found the Liquor that came over, to have but little strength, either as to smell or Tast, nor would it readily turn Syrup of violets Green. I say readily, be­cause after they had been some hours together it would. But yet as a Volatile Alcaly, it would presently turn a strong solution made of common Sub­limate [Page 109] in fair Water, into a White, Opacous, and almost Milky Liquor.

The II. (Secondary) Title, Whether Spirit of Humane Blood be really any thing but the Volatile Salt and Phlegm well commix'd?

SInce the Question mov'd in this Title may be also propounded concerning other Alcalisate Spirits, as those of Urine, Harts-horn, Soot, &c. It is upon that account the more im­portant. And for this Reason, as well as for the difficulty of determining it by cogent Proofs, I may think my self oblig'd to forbear taking upon me to decide it peremptorily, till further Experience shall have furnish'd me with fuller Information. So that for the present about this difficult Question, I shall venture to say no more than this, that what has hitherto [Page 110] occurr'd to me, inclines me to think that the Spirit of Humane Blood is totally compos'd of Volatile Salt and Phlegm, if by Phlegm, we under­stand not Simple, or Elementary Water, but a Liquor, that, althô it pass among Chymists for Phlegm, and deserves that name better than any other Liquor afforded by Hu­mane Blood, yet in the strictest acception it is not That; for when the Spirit, Volatile Salt, and Oil, are separated from it by Distil­lation and Sublimation, as far as they are wont to be in Chymical Prepa­rations of Volatile Alcalies, the re­maining Liquor, which passes for Phlegm, will yet be impregnated with some Particles of Oyl, and per­haps also with some few of volatile Salt, that are too minute to be distin­guishable by the naked Eye. But whether frequent Rectifications may so accurately separate these Hetero­geneous parts, as perfectly to free the Aqueous ones from them, and [Page 111] thereby reduce the Phlegm to Simple or Elementary Water, I am content at least till I shall have had sufficient Quantities of distill'd Blood for mak­ing the requisite Tryals, to leave as a Problem. And this the rather, be­cause I am not sure, but that by fre­quent Distillations, some Particles of the Fire may from time to time Substantially be associated with those of the Liquor; nor yet but that even in the first Distillation of Humane Blood, The Fire may have either se­parated or produc'd a Liquor that though almost strengthless, and not justly referable to either of the re­ceiv'd Principles or Ingredients, Oyl, Salt and Earth, is not yet Phlegm truly so call'd, but a Liquor as yet Anonymous; as I have elsewhere shewn, that Woods and many other Bodies afford by Distillation a Liquor that is not an Oyl, and is neither Acid nor Alcalisate, and yet is no true Phlegm, but as I have there sty­led it, an Adiaphorous Spirit.

[Page 112]It will probably be thought Mate­rial, if on this occasion I add, in fa­vour of the Opinion or Conjecture to which I lately own'd my self in­clin'd, That considering that the knowledge of the Composition of a Body may be sometimes as well, if not better, investigated by the way of generating or producing of it, as by that of Analysing or Resolving it; I made for Tryals sake the following Experiment. We dissolv'd in distilled Water as much Volatile Salt of Hu­mane Blood as the Liquor would take up, and then having carefully distill'd it in a conveniently shap'd Vessel, with a regulated degree of Heat, the Distillation afforded us such a Liquor as was desir'd, namely one that by Smell, Tast and divers Operations, appear'd to be a good brisk Spirit of Humane Blood. This Experiment for the main, was made another time with the like suc­cess.

The III (Secondary) Title. Of the Species of Saline Bodies to which the Spirit of Humane Blood is to be refer'd.

I need not spend much time to de­clare a thing that is now so well known to many Physicians and Chy­mists of this and some of the neigh­bouring Countries, as 'tis that of late years Saline Spirits obtain'd by Distil­lation have been observ'd to be of two sorts. But because there are ma­ny, even of the Learned especially in the remoter parts of Europe, that are not well acquainted with this Distinction, lest some to whom you may shew this Paper should chance to be of that number, it may not be amiss to intimate in two or three Words, that the Saline Spirits that as­cend [Page 114] in Distillation, are some of them Acid in Tast, as Spirit of Nitre, Spirit of Vitriol, &c. And some others have Tasts very differing from that, being rather somewhat like Common Salt, or like Lixiviate Salts. And the dif­ference is greater in their operations than in their Tasts; For being put together there will presently ensue a manifest Conflict between them, and usually (for I have not found it to hold in all cases) the one will Preci­pitate the Bodies that the other hath Dissolved. And 'tis necessary to add, that among the Salts called Alcalies, some are Fixt in considerable degrees of Fire, and others not, for which reason divers modern Spagyrists and Physicians, that take Acid and Alcaly for the true Principles of Mixt Bo­dies, call the one Fixt and the other Volatile Alcalies. And, though I have elsewhere questioned this Doctrine, and given my Reasons why I approve neither it nor the Appellations newly mention'd, and often call the Salts [Page 115] made by Combustion, simply Alcalies or else Lixiviate Salts, and those that ascend sometimes Ʋrinous, and some­times Volatile Salts and Spirits: yet, since the Names of Fixt Alcalies and Volatile ones are now much in request, I shall comply with custom, & often­times (though not always) make use of them in the sense of those that employ them.

These things being premis'd I may now seasonably propound this impor­tant Question, To what Species of Sa­line Bodies the Spirit of Humane Blood is to be referr'd? I say of Saline Bo­dies because though the Spirit of Blood be a Liquor, yet its more effi­cacious Operations seem almost (if not more then almost) totally to depend upon the Fugitive Salt where­with it abounds. The ground of the fore­going Question may be twofold; the one, that I have elsewhere prov'd a­gainst the general supposition, that some Volatile Salts, that arise even in a dry form, may not be of an Alcali­sate; [Page 116] but Acid nature, and the other, that not only Helmont and his Disci­ples, but a great part of the Modern Chymists and Physicians too, ascribe Digestion to an Acid Ferment or Men­struum in the Stomach; Whence one may suspect that store of Acid Corpus­cles may pass into the Mass of Blood, & impregnate it, as I elsewhere shew that Particles of differing Natures may be even by the senses discovered to do.

But notwithstanding this, I shall not scruple to say in answer to the propounded Question, that, as far as I have hitherto been able to observe, the Spirit of Humane Blood is mani­festly referable to that Classis that many call Volatile Alcalies (and I of­ten call Ʋrinous Spirits) for I find Spirit of Blood capable of doing those things, the performance of which has been looked on almost ever since I pub­lickly propos'd them, as the Touch­stone to know Volatile Alcalies, and distinguish them from the other sorts of Saline Bodies. For the Spirit of Hu­mane [Page 117] Blood will make a great con­flict with divers Acid Spirits, as Spirit of Salt, Aqua fortis, &c. It will immediately turn Syrup of Violets from its Blew Colour into a fair Green, 'twill Precipitate a Solution of Sublimate in common Water, into a White Powder, and in short I found it to perform those other things that may be expected from Volatile Al­calies as such, as often as I had occa­sion to make Tryal of it, some­times on one Body, and sometimes on another.

If I were sure (as for Reasons else­where declar'd I am not) that the Digestion of Aliments were made by an Acid Ferment or Juice, whence­soever the Stomach is furnish'd with it, I should be prone to suspect that some Acid Particles may be mingled with the Blood. But however that would not hinder me from referring the Spirit of Humane Blood to Vo­latile Alcalies, because so few Acid Particles would be either destroy'd [Page 118] by the Alcalisate ones, that are so abundant in the Spirit, or at least these would be so very much pre­dominant, as to allow us very war­rantably to give on their account a Denomination to the Mixture. As if a few drops of Spirit of Vinegar were mix'd with some Pints or Pounds of stale Ʋrine, they would either be depriv'd of their Acidity by some Corpuscles of a contrary nature, that they would meet with in the Liquor, or they would be so obscur'd and overpower'd by the Fugitive Salts it abounds with, that the Acetous Corpuscles would not hinder the Spi­rituous Liquor drawn from the Mix­ture by distillation to be justly refe­rable to the Classis of Volatile, Ʋrinous Salts.

The IV. (Secondary) Title. Whether Spirit of Humane Blood be differing from Spirit of Ʋrine, and other Spirits that are call'd Vola­tile Alcalies?

THe Question, Whether there be any difference be [...]ween the Spirit of Humane Blood, and other volatile Alcalies? As Spirit of Urine, Harts-horn, &c. seems to me very difficult to be decided, because two Bodies may agree in many Qua­lities, and perhaps in all of those that are the most obvious, and yet may on some third Body, or in some Ca­ses, manifest distinct Powers, and have their peculiar Operations. Nor do I yet see any certain way, by which the Affirmative part of the Question, thô it should be true, can be clearly demonstrated. Therefore [Page 120] leaving the peremptory Decision of this Question, to those that shall think themselves qualify'd to make it, I shall (at least till I be further in­form'd) content my self to make a Couple of Remarks, in reference to the propos'd Enquiry.

And first I think, there may be a great difference between Volatile Salts or Spirits, as they are ordinari­ly prepar'd for medicinal uses, and as they may, by reiterated Rectifica­tions, and otherways of Depuration, be brought to as great a simplicity or Purity, as a dextrous Chymist can bring them to: I thus express my self, because as to an Exquisite or Elementary Simplicity thô some eminent Artists pretend to it, I am not sure that Chymists can attain it; especially considering what I elsewhere shew of the unheeded Commix­tures, that may (at least sometimes) be made by the Corpuscles of the Fire, with those of the Bodies it works on.

[Page 121]My other Remark is, that whether or no, if the Spirit of Humane Blood, and other Liquors abounding like it in Volatile Alcalies, were reduc'd to as great a purity as they can by Art be brought to, they would be altogether alike in their Nature and Qualities; yet, if we consider them (as men use to do) in that state wherein they are wont to be thought pure enough for medicinal uses, and are accordingly employ'd by Phy­sicians and Chymists; I think it very probable, that there is some difference between the Spirit of Humane Blood and some other Volatile Alcalies, and particularly those afforded by Urine and by Harts-horn. For thô to me the bad smells of all these Liquors seem to be much alike, yet divers Ladies, and those of very differing Ages, affirm they find a manifest difference between these smells, and do abhor the odour of Spirit of Blood as a stink, though they will with pleasure hold their noses a great [Page 122] while over the Sp. of Harts-horn, and even that of (vulgar or European) Sal-armoniac (which is in effect a Sp. of Mans Urine) and affirm themselves to be much refresh'd by it. And, whereas with Spirit of Urine or of Sal-armoniac joyn'd in a due proportion with Spi­rit of Salt, I have usually (as I have long since noted in a­nother Paper aThe usefulness of Experimental Philosophy.) been able to make a Salt that shoots into the pe­culiar Figure of Sal-Armoniac, which figure is very differing from that of Sea Salt, Nitre, &c. I have seldom, if ever obtain'd (at least in any quan­tity) a Salt of that shape, by the commixture of the Spirit of Humane Blood, with that of common Salt; for, though their Saline Corpuscles, upon the Evaporation of the Super­fluous moisture, would coagulate to­gether, yet the concretion seem'd con­fus'd, and either all or a great part of it was destitute of that neat and distinct shape, that I had several times [Page 123] observ'd in concretions, made by the mixture of the Spirit of Sea-Salt with Urinous Spirits. And, as to the Medicinal vertues of Spirit of Blood, though I have not had opportunity to make comparisons experimentally, and therefore shall forbear to affirm any thing my self, yet, if we credit the famous Helmont, there is a con­siderable difference between the Sp. of Humane Blood, & that of Humane Urine, since he somewhere expressly notes, (though I remember not the place, nor have his Book at hand) that the Spirit of Humane Blood cures Epilepsies, which is a thing the Spirit of Urine will not do.

The V. (Secondary) Title. Of the Quantity of Spirit contain'd in Humane Blood whether accompany'd with its Serum or dry'd.

'TIs not easy to determine the exact proportion of that Li­quor, which, when by Distillation obtain'd from Humane Blood, the Chymists call its Spirit, in reference to the other Principles or Ingredi­ents whereof the Blood consists. For some Mens Blood may be much more Phlegmatick or serous than that of others, which it self may be more or less Spirituous according to the Complexion, Age, Sex, &c. of the person that bleeds. But, to make some Estimate, that will not probably much recede from what may be ordinarily found, I shall in­form you, that Twelve Ounces of [Page 125] healthy Humane Blood afforded us seven Ounces and a half of Phlegm, and consequently about Four Ounces and a half of dry stuff. And then I shall add, that having committed to Distillation in a Retort in a Sand Fur­nace seven Ounces of well dry'd (but not scorch'd) Blood, we ob­tain'd about seven Drams, that is, about an Eighth part of Spirit, to which thô it were not rectified, that Name may well enough be given, because it was so very rich in Spiri­tuous and Saline parts, that it left in the Receiver, and in the Vial I kept it in, a good deal of Volatile Salt undissolv'd, which a Phlegma­tick Liquor would not have done. And if that be admitted for a truth, that was above propos'd as a very like­ly Conjecture; namely, that Spirit of Blood is but Salt and Phlegm united, we may well suppose that Humane Blood yields a far greater proporti­on of Spirit than this; since from the seven Ounces of dry'd Blood last [Page 126] mentioned, we obtain'd about Five Drams of Volatile Salt, which if we had by Distillations united with a fit quantity of Phlegm, would pro­bably have afforded us near Two Ounces more of a Liquor deserving the name of Spirit.

The VI. (Secondary) Title. Of the Consistence and Specifick Gra­vity of the Spirit of Humane Blood.

TO the Consistence of the Spirit of Humane Blood, taken in the more laxe sense of the word Con­sistence, one may refer its Specifick Gravity, (as that is usually propor­tionate to the Density of Bodies,) the greater or lesser degree of Fluidity that belongs to the Liquor as a Mass, and the greater or lesser Subtilty of the Minute Parts whereof it is com­pos'd, [Page 127] or wherein it abounds.

And as to the first of the Three At­tributes, we have noted to be referrable to the Consistence of our Spirit; Gra­vity is a Quality that is so radicated, if I may so speak, in the nature of Vi­sible Fluids or Liquors, and does so obstinately accompany them, that I durst not omit to examine the Spe­cifick Gravity (that is, the Gravity in proportion to the Bulk) of Spirit of Humane Blood; though by reason of the small quantity I had of it, I could not make use of the same In­struments, that I was wont to em­ploy in Hydrostatical Tryals, where I was not so stinted in the Liquor to be examined. But however I made a shift to make a Tryal of this kind, by which I found, that a compact body weighing fifty eight Grains in the Air, and in Water six Grains and three fourth parts weighed in Recti­fied Spirit of Humane Blood, but five Grains and one fourth part. And on this occasion I shall tell you, [Page 128] what I presume, you did not expect, which is, that notwithstanding the Volatility of our Spirit of Blood, I found that a pretty large piece of Amber being put into it, did not, as most men would confidently expect, fall to the bottom of the Liquor, but kept itself floating at the upper part of it, and if plung'd into it would emerge.

The next Quality we refer'd to the Consistence of our Spirit of Blood, is the Degree of its Fluidity, or, if you please, its greater or lesser Im­munity from Tenaciousness or Viscosity, which some Modern Philosophers (whose Opinion needs not here be discuss'd) think to belong to all Li­quors as such. Now one may be the more inclin'd to expect a manifest Degree of Tenacity in the Spirit of Humane Blood, because among many Modern Chymists it passes for an Alcaly; and we know that divers other Alcalisate Liquors, as Oyl of Tartar per deliquium, Fix'd Nitre re­solv'd [Page 129] the same way, Solution of Pot-ashes, &c. are sensibly unctuous, and but languidly Fluid. But yet I did not observe, that some rectified Spi­rit of Humane Blood, that I purpose­ly try'd between my Fingers, did feel more unctuous than Common Wa­ter. And whereas those that sell Brandy, or Spirit of Wine, are wont to shake it, till it afford some Froth, and then by the stay this makes on the Surface, to judge of the Tenacity or Tenuity of the Liquor, esteeming that to be the most Ʋnctuous, where­on the Bubbles make the longest stay, and that the finest on which they soon­est disappear; I thought fit by the same Method to examine Spirit of Humane Blood, and found that the Froth would last very little on the Surface of it, the bubbles breaking or vanishing, almost (if not quite) as nimbly, as if the Liquor had been good Spirit of Wine. And I likewise observ'd, that when I warily let fall some of our well rectify'd Spirit of [Page 130] Blood upon some other body, it seemed to me, that the single drops were manifestly smaller than those of Water, and of several other Li­quors, would have been, which will be much confirm'd by one passage of what I have to say about the third Quality referrable to the Consistence of the Spirit we treat of.

Because it may be a thing of some Importance, as well as Curiosity, to know how subtil the active parts of Spirit of Humane Blood are, and how disposed and fitted to disperse or dif­fuse themselves through other Liquors of convenient Textures; to make a visible discovery of this, I bethought my self of a Method, that having formerly devised for several purposes, I thought fitly applicable to my pre­sent Design. For having looked up­on it as a great defect, that men have lazily contented themselves to say in general, that such a Body is of subtile, or of very subtile Parts, without trou­bling themselves to find out any way [Page 131] of making more particular and less indeterminate Estimates of that sub­tilty; I was invited to find out and practise a way that might on divers oc­casions somewhat supply that defect. But having delivered this easy method in another Paper, I shall forbear to repeat a tedious account of it in this; since it may here suffice to tell you in short, what will perhaps surprize you; namely, That according to the forementioned way, we so prepar'd Common Water by Infusions made in it without heat, that by putting one single drop of our rectified Spi­rit of Humane Blood into ℥iv. + ℈iv. (which make 2000 grains) of the prepar'd Water, and lightly shaking the Vial, there appeared throughout the Liquor a manifest Colour, where­of no degree at all was discernible in it just before. Which sufficiently argues a wonderful subtilty of Parts in the Spirit we employ'd; since that a single drop of it could disperse its Corpuscles, so as to diffuse it self [Page 132] through, and mingle with two thou­sand times as much Water, and yet retain so much Activity, as to make their presence not only sensible, but conspicuous, by a manifest change of Colour they produc'd. I confess this computation is made, upon sup­position that a drop of Water weighs about a grain, and that a drop of our Spirit of Blood was of the same weight with a drop of Water.

The former supposition is com­monly made; and though I have not found it to be exactly true, but that a drop of Water weigh'd a Tan­tillum more than a Grain; yet that difference is much more than recom­pens'd, by that which we found be­tween the weight of a drop of Water, and the weight of one of Spirit of Humane Blood. For having in a very good and carefully adjusted Ballance, let fall ten drops of Com­mon Water, and as many of our Rectified Spirit of Humane Blood, (as judging it a safer way to make [Page 133] an Estimate, by comparing so ma­ny drops of each Liquor than one alone;) we found, as we might well expect, that a drop of this last nam'd Liquor, as it was manifest­ly lesser, so it was far lighter, than a drop of Water, in so much, that the whole ten drops did not a­mount to four Grains. So that we may safely judge the drop of Spirit to have manifestly diffused it self, and acted upon above 4000 times so much Water in weight, (and per­haps in bulk too) since indeed the pro­portion extended a good way to­wards that of one to 5000; and so may be said to be as that of one to between 4000 and 5000, which, tho it may seem incredible to those that are unacquainted with the great sub­tilty of Nature and Art, in the Com­minutions they can make of Bodies; yet I can by repeating the Experi­ment easily convince a doubter, in less than a quarter of an hour. And this Subtilty of the Parts of Blood [Page 134] will appear yet greater, if it be con­sider'd, (what I think I can evince,) that no contemptible part of the single drop I employ'd was Phlegm, useless to the change produc'd, the operation being due to the Energy of the Saline Spirits of the little drop.

The VII. (Secondary) Title. Of the Odour, Taste, Colour, and Transparence of the Spirit of Hu­mane Blood.

THose Qualities, that in my Opinion more generally than deservedly are call'd first, do not any of them belong to the Spirit of Hu­mane Blood, in such manner as to oblige me to say any thing of them in relation to it. And therefore I shall content my self to have made this transient mention of them, to keep it [Page 135] from being thought, that through forgetfulness I had overlook'd them. Yet something there is, that may not inconveniently be refer'd to the heat or coldness of Spirit of Humane Blood; in regard that Physicians, as well as Philosophers, distinguish these Qualities into Actual and Potential. For it seems, that the Spirit of Hu­mane Blood is in reference to some Liquors potentially cold, since it refri­gerates them, and in reference to some others potentially hot, since being mingled with them, the mixture be­comes actually hot. Of this last I shall here set down the ensuing In­stance.

Into a slender Cylindrical Glass we put the lower part of an Herme­tically Seal'd Thermoscope, which in this Paper and elsewhere I usually call the gag'd one, because it was adjust­ed according to the standard of such Instruments kept at Gresham Col­ledge. Into this Cylindrical Glass we pour'd as much moderately [Page 136] strong Spirit of Blood, as would co­ver the Ball of the Thermometer, and then drop'd on that Liquor some good Spirit of Salt, upon whose mingling with it there was produc'd a Conflict accompany'd with noise and bubbles, and a heat, which nimbly enough made the Spirit of Wine ascend above two inches and a half. This Experiment is therefore the more considerable, because there are divers Volatile Alcalies that being confounded with Acid Spirits, tho they seem to make a true Effervescence, yet do really produce a notable de­gree of Coldness. And that which to me seem'd considerable on this oc­casion, was, that whereas I had several times found by Tryal, that the Spi­rit of Verdegrease (which some call the Spirit of Venus) would with the Volatile Salt of Sal Armoniack, or of Urine, produce a seeming Effer­vescence, but a real coldness; this Spi­rit of Verdegrease it self, being mix'd in the forementioned small Cylin­drical [Page 137] Glass, with but moderately strong Spirit of Blood, did not only produce a hissing noise and store of bubbles, but an actual heat, where­by the Spirit of Wine in the Ther­moscope was made quickly to ascend above an inch and a half, tho the Liquors employ'd amounted not both together to two spoonfuls.

The VIII. (Secundary) Title. Of the Dissolutive Power of Spirit of Humane Blood.

IT will not only serve to mani­fest the Subtilty and Penetran­cy of the Spirit of Human Blood, but it may be also of some use to Physicians, if it be made appear by Experiments, that this Spirit is by itself not only a good Medicine for several diseases, (as will be hereafter shewn,) but may be also employ'd [Page 138] as a Menstruum, to dissolve several Bo­dies, and even some Metalline ones. And because these last mention'd are the most unlikely to be readily dis­soluble, by a substance belonging to the Animal Kingdom, as Chymists speak; I shall subjoyn two Tryals, that I made to evince this Dissolu­tive Power of the Spirit of Blood.

And first we took Crude Copper in Filings, (which if they be very small, are so much the fitter for our purpose) and having pour'd on them some highly rectify'd Spirit of Human Blood, we shook them to­gether, and in about a quarter of an hour or less, perceiv'd the Menstru­um to begin to look a little Blewish, which argu'd its operation to have already begun. And this colour grew higher and higher, till after some hours the Menstruum had dis­solved Copper enough to make it deeply Ceruleous. Some other, and somewhat differing Tryals on the same Metal will be met with in their [Page 139] proper place. In the mean time I shall here take notice, that in some Circumstances the Spirit of Blood has such an operation upon Copper, whose quickness is surprising. For having made a coin'd piece of that Metal clean and bright (that no grease or foulness might hinder the effect of the Liquor,) and put a drop or two of our Spirit upon it, with­in about half a Minute of an Hour, (observ'd by a watch that shew'd Seconds) the verge of the moistned part of the Surface appear'd blewish, and almost presently after, the rest of the wetted part acquir'd a fine A­zure Colour.

We also took filings of Zink, or (as in the shops they call it) Spelter, and having pour'd on them very well rectified Spirit of Blood, we ob­serv'd, that even in the cold it quick­ly began to work manifestly, thô not vigorously. But being assisted with a little heat, it dissolv'd the Zink briskly, and not without producing [Page 140] store of bubbles, being also a little discolour'd by the operation of this Experiment, some use is made in a­nother place, and therefore need not be deliver'd in this.

On this occasion I shall add, that for curiosities sake I took a piece of Coagulated Blood, but not dry'd, somewhat bigger than a large Pea, having a care to take it from the lower part of the lump of Blood, that it might be black, the superfi­cial part of Fibrous Blood that lies next the Air, being usually Red. This clot of Blood we put into a slender Vial of clear Glass, that the colour might be the better discern'd, and then pour'd on it a little Recti­fied Spirit of Humane Blood, and shook the Glass alittle; where­upon in a trice the colour of (at least) the Superficial part of the Blood, was, as I had conjectur'd, manifestly chang'd, the blackness quite disap­pearing, and being succeeded by a [Page 141] very florid colour like that of fine Scarlet. The Liquor also was ting'd, but not with near so deep or so fair a Red, and by the little bubbles that from time to time past out of the Clod into it, it seem'd to work somewhat like a Menstruum. And yet soon after coming to look upon this lump of Blood again, I found it to have much degenerated from its former colour, to one less fair and more dark.

We took also another Clot of Blood like the former, save that one part of it which had lain next the Air, was not black; and having in a Vial like the former pour'd on it some Spirit of Blood, taken out of the same Vial whence I took the first parcel, the Reddish colour seem'd presently to be much improv'd, and made more fair, and like true Scar­let. But the black was not so al­ter'd, as to be depriv'd of its black­ness, but retain'd a dark and dirty colour. So that this second Expe­riment [Page 142] requires a further Tryal, when there shall be conveniency to make it, and it will the rather de­serve one, because what has been already recited of the Operation of the Spirit upon the two parcels of Blood, may suggest uncommon Re­flections to Speculative Wits.

And here on this occasion it will be proper to relate to you, that having a confus'd remembrance, that I had a great while before put up some Humane Blood, with a certain quan­tity of Volatile Spirit, to keep it fluid and preserve it, without distinctly remembring what Volatile Alca­ly I had employ'd; I found among other Glasses that had been laid a­side, one Bolt-head with a long Neck, to which was ty'd a Label, importing that at such a time twelve Drams of Humane Blood, were put up with two Drams of Spirit of Hu­mane Blood. By the date of this Paper it appear'd, that this Blood had been preserv'd much above a [Page 143] whole twelve Month; and yet it ap­pear'd through the Glass of a fine Florid Colour, and seem'd to be little less than totally Fluid. And indeed when we came to open the Vessel, which was carefully stopt with a good Cork, and hard Seal­ing Wax, we found no ill scent or other sign of Putrefaction in the Mixture, and but a very small Por­tion of Blood lightly clotted at the bottom; the rest passing readily through a Rag. So that the Spirit of Humane Blood seems to have a great embalming Vertue; since 'twas able so long and well to preserve six times its weight, of a Body so apt to Concrete and Putrefie, as Humane Blood is known to be, and probably would have preserv'd it much longer, if we had thought fit to prosecute the Experiment. To this account of our Trial I know not whether it will be worth while to add, that having broken it off, that we might distill the above mentioned Mixture with a [Page 144] very gentle heat, the first Liquor that ascended was not a Spirit, but a kind of Phlegm, thô afterwards there came up, besides a Spirituous Liquor, a Volatile Salt in a dry form.

On this occasion I shall subjoyn the following Tryal, long since made with a Spirit, that I supposed to have been weaker than that, with which the lately mentioned Experiments were made.

In order to a design that need not here be mentioned, I caus'd some Filings of Mars to be purposely made, that being presently employ'd they might not contract any Rust, where­by the operation of our Liquor might be made doubtful. On these we poured some of our Spirit, and having kept them together a while in Digestion, we found as we ex­pected, that the Liquor had wrought on the Metal, and produc'd a con­siderable quantity of a light sub­stance, in colour almost like Crocus, [Page 145] but something paler. And we also found more than we expected; for there appeared in the Liquor good store of thin Plates, like a kind of Terra Foliata, (as the Chymists speak) which after a very slight agitation, being held against the Sunbeams, exhibited the Colours of the Rain-bow in so vivid a manner, as did not a little delight, as well as surprize the Spectators, but I did not perceive that the tast of the Liquor was considerably Mar­tial.

The IX. (Secondary) Title. Of the Tinctures that may be drawn with Spirit of Humane Blood.

MOst of those Extractions the Chymists call Tinctures, be­ing, as I have elsewhere shewn, partial Solutions of the Bodies from which they are obtain'd, 'twill I pre­sume be easily granted, that since the Spirit of Blood is able (as in the foregoing Title it has appear'd to be) to dissolve Copper and Zink, that are Solid and Metalline Bodies, 'twill be able to extract Tinctures out of di­vers others. But, that this power of our Menstruum may be rather prov'd than supposed, it will not be amiss to add a few Instances of it.

Spirit of Blood being put upon English Saffron, did soon acquire up­on it a fine Yellow Colour.

[Page 147]Spirit of Blood being put upon Powder'd Curcuma, or, as Trades­men are wont to call it, Turmerick, did in the cold Extract from it a lovely Tincture, like a rich solution of Gold; which probably (to inti­mate that upon the by) may prove a good de-obstruent Medicine, particu­larly in the Jaundise; in which dis­ease Turmerick that is taken to be a kind of East Indian Saffron, is upon experience commended, and in this our Tincture is united with Spirit of Humane Blood, which is very near of kin to Spirit of Urine, and probably at least as efficacious; with which Liquor, when well rectify'd, I have had more than ordinary success in the Jaundise.

To make some Trial of the Ex­tracting Power of the Spirit of Blood, upon substances that have be­long'd to Animals, I thought it might particularly conduce to some Medical purposes, to try what it would do upon the solid part of Hu­mane [Page 148] Blood it self slowly dry'd, so as not to be burn'd, but only to be reducible with some pains to fine Powder. Accordingly upon this well sifted Powder of Blood, we put some moderately strong Spirit of the same subject, on which the Li­quor began very soon to colour it self, even in the cold; and within no long time after, it appear'd as Red as ordinary French Claret Wine. This Extraction made me suspect, that the Phlegm that was not carefully separated from the Spirit I then em­ploy'd, might hasten the coloration of the Menstruum. For which reason I put upon another Portion of the same Powder some rectify'd Spirit of Blood, so well deflegmed that it would not dissolve a grain of the Vo­latile Salt of Blood: And I found in­deed, as I suspected, that this Men­struum did not any thing near so soon draw a Tincture, as the other had done; for after divers hours the co­lour it had obtain'd was but brown, [Page 149] but after some hours longer the co­lour appear'd to be heightned into Redness, but yet manifestly inferiour to that of the somewhat Phlegma­tick Spirit above mentioned, where­to it did yet in a longer time grow almost equal. By this means we may not only disguise the Spirit of Blood, but impregnate it with the finer parts of the unanalys'd solid Bo­dy, which may possibly make the Spirit a Remedy more proper for some Diseases or Constitutions: and this Medicine I sometimes call the entire Tincture of Humane Blood, because it consists of nothing else but such Blood.

To shew at length that the Spirit of Humane Blood may extract Tinctures out of some of the hardest Bodies, I made the following Expe­riment.

We took some choice Filings of Steel (for such are those that are saved by the Needlemakers) and ha­ving put them into a small Egg, we [Page 150] pour'd on them some highly rectify'd Spirit of Blood, and kept them all Night in digestion in a moderate heat. The next day (but not early) we found the Menstruum turn'd of a Brownish Red colour, that was deep enough. And some of the Filings that chanc'd to stick to the sides of the Glass, but were higher than the Liquor could reach in its gross body, seem'd to have been, either by Ex­halations from the Menstruum, or perhaps by the Transient Contact of it, as it was pouring in, turn'd into a kind of Yellow Crocus Martis. I must not here forget, that having kept the Menstruum and the Filings together in the forementioned Egg for some days longer, the colour was grown opacous, and appear'd to be black, when it was look'd on in any considerable bulk, this last ex­pression I employ, because it had a­nother appearance, when it was somewhat thinly spread upon White Paper.

[Page 151]Perhaps it may be a Remark not altogether useless to Physicians, a­mong many of whom Chaly beate Remedies are in very great request, if I add, that for reasons not needful to be mentioned here, having a suspi­cion that our Spirit would work up­on Steel, in another manner than the Acid Solvents wont to be used by Chymists and Physicians, we pour'd some of our Tincture drawn from Filings of Steel, upon a freshly drawn Tincture of Galls (infus'd in Common Water,) and did not find that this Liquor would with the In­fusion make any Inky mixture, nor that the Precipitate that was quick­ly produc'd, was of a black, much less of a true Inky colour: Though I have found means to produce in a trice a black mixture, with other Martial Solutions and Tinctures, which for curiosities sake I some­times made Green, sometimes Red, sometimes Yellow, and sometimes, if I mistake not, of neither of those colours.

[Page 152]I have been the more express in setting down the Particulars above delivered, because I hope they may be somewhat helpful to Rectify the Judgment of divers very ingenious modern Physicians, especially among the Cultivaters of Chymistry, who build much upon a supposition, which though I deny not to be spe­cious, I doubt is not solid, and I fear may be of ill consequence. For by the above recited Tryals it may ap­pear, that 'tis unsafe either to sup­pose, that if Chalybeates be dissolv'd in the body, it must be by some A­cid Juice; or to conclude, that if Steel be dissolv'd by the Liquors of the Body, it must be ex praedominio, (as they speak) Alcalisate; since a Liquor that exercises a great Hosti­lity against Acids, dissolves it; and by parity of reason one may pro­bably infer the quite contrary of what they suppose; in regard that Steel in our Experiment was (parti­ally at least) dissolv'd by what they [Page 153] call an Alcaly; and consequently ought to be ex praedominio, of an A­cid nature. But of this Hypothesis we elsewhere purposely discourse, and therefore shall here add nothing concerning it, but leave it to be consider'd, whether it would not be requisite to seek out some other way, than Physicians have hitherto pitch'd on, to explicate the manner of ope­ration of Chalybeate Medicines in the Humane Body; and whether some use may not be made in Me­dicine, of Martial Remedies prepar'd by Volatile Alcalies, instead of A­cids.

I put some Spirit of Humane Blood upon powder'd Amber, sifted through a fine Sieve, and kept it in Digestion for some days, giving it a pretty degree of heat; but we ob­tain'd not hereby any Tincture at all considerable; whether it was, that the Spirit was not yet highly enough rectify'd, or that the Amber (which was of a finer sort of white Amber) [Page 154] was not so proper to yield its Tin­cture, as I have several times found courser, but deeper colour'd Amber to be.

To this (IX.) Title may be refer'd the event that followed, upon our having put some Spirit of Humane Blood upon that sort of Gum-Laccae, that comes out of the East Indies in Grains, and (for that reason) is com­monly call'd Seed-Lac. For the Spirit we put upon this, tho this be a resinous Gum, and of no easy So­lution, soon became tincted; which I expected it should, because I con­jectur'd that the Redness wont to appear in many of the Seed-like Grains, is but superficial, and pro­ceeds from some adhering Blood of the little (winged) Insects, that by their bitings occasion the production of this Gum, upon the Twigs of the Tree where the Lac is found; on which Twigs I have more than once seen store of these Gummous Grains. So that the Tincture seems not to [Page 155] be drawn from the Lac it self, but rather to be afforded by the Blood of these little Animals, which the Spirit of Humane Blood, that will draw Tinctures from dry'd Mans Blood, dissolves; and this Tincture may probably be a good Medicine, since most of the In­sects us'd in Physick, as Millepedes, Lice, Bees, Aunts, &c. Even in our colder Climates, afford Medi­cines of very subtle and pierce­ing parts, and of considerable effi­cacy.

The X. (Secondary) Title. Of the coagulating Power of the Spi­rit of Humane Blood.

THough the Spirit of Humane Blood, have such a dissolving power as we have mention'd, in re­ference to some Bodies, yet upon some others it seems to have a quite contrary Operation. I say seems, be­cause it may be question'd, (and I am not now minded to dispute it) whether the effect I am going to speak of be a Coagulation, properly so call'd, that one Body makes of ano­ther or a Coalition of Particles fitted, when they chance to meet one ano­ther, (in a convenient manner,) to stick together. But whatever name ought to be properly given to the thing I am about to speak of, I have found by Tryal purposely made, that [Page 157] the highly rectifyed Spirit of Hu­mane Blood, being well mingled by shaking with a convenient quantity, (which should be at least equal) of Vinous Spirits that will burn all a­way, (for if either of the Liquors be Phlegmatick, the Experiment suc­ceeds either not at all, or not so well) there will presently ensue a Coagu­lation or concretion, either of the whole Mixture, or a great portion of it, into Corpuscles of a Saline form, that cohering loosly together, make up a Mass that has consistence enough not to be fluid, though it be very soft: and in this form it may re­main as far as I have yet tryed, for a good while, perhaps several weeks, or months at least, if it be kept in a cool place.

The XI. (Secondary) Title. Of the Precipitating Power of Spirit of Humane Blood.

OF the Precipitating Power of Spirit of Humane Blood, I have yet observ'd nothing that is pe­culiar, and therefore it may suffice to say in general, that, as far as I have had occasion to try, it has in common with those other Volatile Spirits, which I elsewhere call Ʋrinous, a Po­wer of Precipitating most Bodies that are dissolv'd in Acid Menstruums I say most, because (as I have else­where more fully shewn) it is an Er­ror, though a vulgar one, to suppose (as Chymists and Physicians are wont to do) that whatever is dissolv'd by an Acid will be Precipitated by an Alcali as such, whether Fixt or Volatile, which latter sort they take [Page 159] the spirits of Urine, Blood, &c. to be of. For there is no Necessity this Rule should hold, when the Body is of such a nature, that it may be dissolv'd as well by an Alcaly as by an Acid. And though, the Hy­pothesis of Alcali and Acidum allow­ed them not to think there were any such Bodies, yet I have in ano­ther Paper Experimentally evinc'd, that there are so. And it may be prov'd without going very far, since we lately observ'd aSee the viii. Ti­tle. that good Spirit of Humane Blood Would in the cold dissolve both Cop­per & Zink, which are Bodies that will each of them be readily dissolv'd by Aqua fortis, and some other Acid Men­struums.

Bating such Bodies as those I have been speaking of, I have not found but that Spirit of Humane Blood Pre­cipitates other Bodies dissolv'd in Acid Menstruums, much after the [Page 160] same manner that Spirit of Urine and other such Volatile Alcalies are wont to do. Of this, among other Instances, I remember that I made Tryal upon Red-lead or Minium dis­solv'd in the Acid Salt of Vinegar, Silver in Aqua fortis, Gold in Aqua Re­gia, and Tin dissolv'd in an appropri­ated Menstruum. I also with our Spirit Precipitated the Solutions of divers other Bodies, which need not here be nam'd. But in regard of the great and frequent use that men make of Sea Salt, in preserving and seasoning what they eat, it may not be amiss particularly to mention that out of a solution of common Salt made in common Water, we could readily Precipitate with the Spirit of Blood, a substance that looked like a White Earth; and such a sub­stance I obtain'd in far greater quantity, from that which the Salt­makers call Bittern, which usually remains in their Salt pans after they have taken out as much, or near as [Page 161] much Salt, as would Coagulate in figured grains.

The Spirit of Humane Blood does also make a Precipitation of Dantsick Vitriol dissolv'd in Water, but not, that I have observ'd, a total one, which you need not wonder at, because it will dissolve Copper, which is one of the Ingredients of Blew Vitriol.

The XII. (secondary) Title. Of the Affinity between Spirit of Hu­mane Blood and some Chymical Oyls and Vinous Spirits.

THough in another Paper aAbout the Me­chanical Origine or Production of Qualities. I de­clare my self, for Rea­sons there express'd, dissatisfy'd with the Vulgar Notions of Sympathy, Antipathy, Friendship, Affinity, Hostility, &c. that are pre­sum'd [Page 162] to be found among Inanimate Bodies, yet in this place nothing forbids to employ the Terms Affinity Cognation, and Hostility, in the laxe and popular sense, wherein they are us'd not only by the Vulgar, but by School Philosophers and Chy­mists.

It seems then, according to this acception of the Word Affinity, that there is such a thing between Recti­fyed Spirit of Humane Blood, and pure Spirit of Wine; since we have formerly (under the Tenth Title) observ'd, that being put together they will readily Concoagulate, and continue united a long time. It is very probable, that the like Associa­tion may be also made with other Ardent Spirits prepar'd by Fermen­tation.

We have likewise formerly noted, that our Spirit will make a Solution of the finer parts of Humane Blood well dry'd, which Instance I men­tion on this occasion, because it seems [Page 163] to be the Effect of some Affinity or Cognation (as most men would call, what I would call Mechanical Congrui­ty) between the Spirit and the Body it works on, in regard I found, by more than one Tryal purposely made, that a highly Rectifyed Vinous Spirit (for if it be Phlegmatick, the Water may dissolve some of the Blood) would not (at least in divers hours that my Tryals lasted) draw any Tincture from it.

With Lixiviate Liquors, such as are made of Salt of Tartar, fix'd Nitre, &c. resolv'd in the Air or otherwise, the Chymist will expect that the Spirit of Blood should have an Affinity, since they esteem all these Liquors Alcalies though this be Vo­latile and those be fix'd. But though these Liquors comport well with one another, yet we find not that they strictly Associate by Concoagulation, as we lately observ'd the Spirit of Blood to do with Spirit of Wine.

[Page 164] Note: See the Produ­cibility of Chy­mical Princi­ples.The same Spirit of Blood mingles readily with that Spirit of Vege­tables, that I have else­where given a large account of under the Title of Adiaphorous Spirit, which argues that there is some Affinity between them, or rather, that there is not any manifest Hostility or con­trariety.

The like Relation may be found between Spirit of Blood and many other Liquors, which it were need­less and tedious to enumerate. It may better deserve the consideration of a Chymist, that though there is mani­festly a near Cognation between the Spirit of Humane Blood and the Oyl, since they both proceed immediate­ly from the same Body, yet even de­phlegm'd Spirit of Blood being sha­ken, and thereby confounded with its Oyl, will quickly separate again from it, though with Spirit of Wine (which is according to the Chymists a Liquid Sulphur as well as the Oyl) [Page 165] it will permanently unite, notwith­standing that these two Liquors do (to speak in their Language) belong even to differing Kingdoms, the one to the Animal, and the other to the Vegetable.

With the Essential Oyls (as Chy­mists call them) of Aromatick Ve­getables, or at least with some of them the well Rectifyed Spirit of H. Blood seems to have a greater Affinity. For having taken a dram of this Liquor, and an equal weight of Oyl of Anise-seeds drawn in a Lembick [ per vesi­cam,] and shaken them well together they made a soft or semifluid White Coagulum, that continu'd in that form for a day or two, and probably would have longer done so, if I had not had occasion to proceed further with it.

It may not be impertinent on this occasion to take notice, that because I presum'd, that, though Spirit of Blood would not totally mix with Essential Oyls, (as Chymists call [Page 166] them) it might either communicate some Saline parts to them, or work a change in them; I digested a while in a Glass with a long neck, some Rectifyed Spirit of Humane Blood, with a convenient quantity of Oyl of Anise-seeds drawn in a Lembick, and found, as I expected, that the Oyl grew colour'd of a high Yellow, and afterwards attain'd to a Redness; which Experiment I the rather mention, be­cause it may possibly afford you a hint about the Cause, of some Changes of Colour, that are pro­duc'd in some of the Liquors of the Body.

Upon the foremention'd Affinity or congruity of the Spirit of Blood with that of Wine, and with (some) Essential Oyls, I founded a way of taking off the offensive smell of Spi­rit of Humane Blood, which is the only thing that is likely to keep the more delicate sort of Patients from employing so useful a Medicine, as this will hereafter appear to be. [Page 167] But to deal with a Philosophical can­dor, I must not conceal from you, that, till Experience shall be duly con­sulted, I shall retain a Doubt, whe­ther the way employ'd to deprive our Spirit of its stink, will not also deprive it of part of its Efficacy. But on the other side, I consider it as a thing probable enough, that these Aromatis'd Spirits may, by being impregnated with many of the finer parts of the Oyls employ'd to correct their Odour, be likewise endow'd with the vertues of those Oyls, which are Liquors that Chymists not improbably believe to consist of the noblest parts of the Vegetables that afford them.

To Aromatise the Spirit of Hu­mane Blood we employ'd two differ­ing ways, the first whereof was this; we took a convenient quantity of well Rectifyed Spirit of Blood and having put it into a Glass Egg, we added to it as much, or (what may in many Cases more than suffice) [Page 168] half as much, Essential Oyl of Anise-seeds for instance; And having shaken these Liquors together to mingle them very well, we plac'd the Glass in a sit posture, in a Fur­nace where it should not have too great a heat, by which means the slight Texture of the Coagulum being dissolv'd, part of the Oyl (sometimes a great portion of it) appear'd by it self floating at the top of the Spirit. Whence being separated by a Tun­nel or otherwise, the remaining Li­quor was Whitish and without any stink, the smell predominant in it be­ing that of the Anise-seeds, of which it tasted strongly, though the Sa­line Spirituous parts of the Blood did in this Liquor retain a not inconside­rable degree of their brisk and pene­trant Tast.

The other way I thought of to Aromatise our Spirit of Blood, was by employing a Medium to unite it with Essential Oyls. For which purpose in a Vinous Spirit, so De­phlegm'd [Page 169] that in a Silver spoon it would totally burn away, we dis­solv'd by shaking a convenient proportion, as an eighth part or a far less (according to the strength of the Oyl) of an Essential Oyl (of Anise-seeds for instance,) and to this solu­tion we added an equal quantity, or some other convenient one, of our Rectifyed Spirit of Blood, and hav­ing by shaking mix'd them as well as we could, we suffer'd the expected Coagulum (which was soft and not uniform) to rest for some time, after which it appear'd that some of the Oyl was reviv'd, and swam in drops distinct from the other Liquor, which consisted of a Mixture of the two Spi­rits, impregnated with the Particles of the Oyl they had intercepted and de­tain'd. This Liquor abounded with lit­tle concretions made by the concoagu­lation of the Sanguineous and Vinous Spirits. And these with a very gentle heat sublim'd in the form of a Volatile Salt, to the upper part of the Glass; [Page 170] Which Salt seem'd to have a much less penetrating odour, then the meer Volatile Salt of Humane Blood, but had quite lost its stink, and yet re­tain'd a considerable Quickness, and somewhat of the scent of the Anise Seeds; the remaining Liquor also was depriv'd of its ill smell, and mode­rately imbued with that of the Oyl.

I thought it worth trying, whe­ther there would be any Affinity between our Spirit (which I per­ceiv'd contain'd in it many latent Particles of an Oleaginous nature) and the highly rectifyed Oyl of Pe­troleum; which is a Mineral Bitumen: and having shaken together a Con­venient quantity of these two Li­quors in a new Vial, they presently turn'd into a White Mixture. And tho after it had for many hours been left to settle, the greater part of the Oyl swam above the Spirit, yet there appear'd betwixt the two Liquors a good quantity of a whitish Matter, which seem'd to [Page 171] be something that had been produc'd by the Precipitation or Union of many Particles of the Spirit and Oyl, that were more dispos'd than the rest to combine with one another.

The XIII. (Secondary) Title. Of the Relation between Spirit of Humane Blood and the Air.

THat the Contact of the Air has a speedy and a manifest opera­tion upon Humane Blood, is else­where shewn by some Experiments of an Italian Virtuoso, Signior — and some of mine. But whether, after Humane Blood has had its Texture so much alter'd, as it uses to be by Distillation, it will retain any pecu­liar Relation to the Air, I have not been able to make Tryals enough to determine; but however it will not be amiss, to set down the chief Ex­periments I made on this occasion, because they may be considerable as parts of our History, tho they should not be so, as Arguments decisive of our controversy.

[Page 172]The first Experiment was quick­ly made, by thinly spreading upon a piece of White Paper, (which ought to be close, that it may not soak up the Liquor) some small Fi­lings of Copper, and wetting them well, without covering them quite over, with a few drops of good Spi­rit of Blood, for by this means being very much expos'd to the free Air, the Action of the Liquor was so much promoted, that within a Mi­nute or two it did, even in the cold, begin to acquire a blewish colour, and in fewer Minutes than one would have expected, that colour was so heightened as to become Ce­ruleous. But when I put another parcel of the same Filings into a Vial, and cover'd them with Spirit of Blood, and then stopt the Vial, to keep it from intercourse with the external Air, the Liquor would not in some Hours acquire so deep a colour.

The other Experiment we made, in order to the lately propos'd en­quiry, [Page 173] was the same for substance, that I had formerly made, (and have elsewhere at large deliver'd) with the Spirit of Urine, and with that of Sal-Armoniac, save that, to spare our Spirit of Blood, we em­ploy'd a far less quantity of it, then we did of either of the forementi­on'd Liquors. For having in a clear Cylindrical Vial of about an Inch Diameter, put more Filings of Cop­per than were requisite to cover the bottom, we pour'd upon it, but so much Spirit of Humane Blood, as serv'd to swim a Fingers breadth, or about an Inch above them. This Liquor, because of the quantity of Air, that was contain'd in the Vial, did within few Hours acquire a rich Blew colour, and this after a day or two began to grow more faint, and continued to do so more and more, till it came to be almost lost; but yet the Liquor was not altogether Lympid, or colourless, as I have often had it with Spirit of Urine, or [Page 174] of Sal-Armoniac; which remains of blewishness I was apt to attribute to the great quantity of Air, that was included in the Vial with so small a quantity of Liquor. And tho I thought it not impossible, but that length of time might destroy these Remains of blewishness also, yet not having leisure to wait so long, I un­stopt the Vial, and perceiv'd, as I expected, that in a very short time, perhaps about two Minutes of an hour, the Surface of the Liquor, where it was touch'd by the newly enter'd Air, became Ceruleous, and in a short time after, perhaps less than a quarter of an hour, the whole Body of the Liquor had attain'd a deeper colour than that of the Sky, which colour, the Vial being seasonably and carefully stop't, began in two or three days to grow paler again.

These Experiments would, I questi­on not, to many seem manifestly to infer a great Cognation or Affinity (for I know not well what name to [Page 175] give it) between the Spirit of Hu­mane Blood and the Air. But tho I shall not deny the Conclusion as 'tis an Assertion, I dare not rely on the validity of the Inference; because I have for curiosities sake made the like Experiments succeed, with other Spirits abounding with Volatile Salt. I foresee it may very speciously be pretended, that those Tryals succeed­ed upon the account of some Spiritu­ous parts of the Blood, since Spirit of Urine is made of a Liquor separated from the Blood; and that, tho the Sal-Armoniack that is made in the East, may consist in great part of Camels Urine, yet that which is made in Europe, (where Camels are rarities) and is commonly sold in our Shops, is made of Mans Urine, and consequently its Spirit may well be presum'd to be impregnated with Spirit of Humane Blood. And I confess, that when this considerati­on came first into my mind, it ap­pear'd so probable, that I should [Page 176] perhaps have acquiesced in it, if it were not for what I am going to subjoyn; namely, That I found by Tryal carefully made, that with ano­ther Volatile Spirit made without any substance that is afforded by the body of Man, I could with Filings of Copper make an Experiment, ve­ry analogous to that above related. But because in this Tryal, the reite­rated contact of the Air produc'd in the Liquor not a Ceruleous, but a Green colour, I am willing to su­spend my Judgment about the Pro­blem lately propos'd, till experience shall have further inform'd me.

I know not whether it will be worth while to relate, that having in an unstopt Glass, put some Spirit of Humane Blood into a Receiver, plac'd upon our Pneumatick Engine, and withdrawn the incumbent Air by pumping; the Spirit of Blood seem'd to afford lesser and fewer Ae­real Bubbles, than such a quantity of Common Water it self would pro­bably [Page 177] have done. But, as I lately intimated, I know not whether this observation be considerable, because being not willing to weaken by ex­posing it, a fresh parcel of Spirit, I know not whether the paucity of Air observ'd in that lately mentio­ned, were accidental or not.

The XIV. (Secondary) Title. Of the Hostility of the Spirit of Hu­mane Blood to Acids, whether they be in the form of Liquors or Fumes.

THat there is in the Spirit of Humane Blood, such a thing, as a Chymist or a vulgar Philoso­pher would call Hostility, or an Antipathy in reference to Acids, has been plainly enough, tho very briefly, intimated in a Passage be­longing to the third of the precedent Titles. But yet it may not be im­pertinent [Page 178] to add in this place, that our Spirit of Humane Blood exer­cises this Hostility against more than one sort of Acid Spirits, tho perhaps they differ not a little from one ano­ther, as Spirit of Salt, Spirit of Nitre, Spirit and Oyl of Vitriol, Aqua For­tis, Aqua Regia, &c. and not only against Factitious Acids, but against Natural ones too, the Spirit of Hu­mane Blood may discover a manifest Hostility, as I found by the conflict it would make with newly express'd Juice of Lemmons which it would put into a confus'd agitation accom­pany'd with bubbles. And this was yet the more evident, when I em­ploy'd the Volatile Salt of Blood, that is, the Spirit in a dry form: for having squeez'd upon a parcel of this, some Juice of Lemmons, there was presently excited a great com­motion, accompany'd not only with froth, but with noise. But (to re­turn to the strongly Acid Liquors made by Distillation) whether the [Page 179] great commotion, and froth, and hissing noise, that usually follows upon the mixing of Spirit of Hu­mane Blood with any of these Men­struums, do proceed from a true Hostility, or an Antipathy deserved­ly so call'd, or else be a motion to Coalescence or Union; or an effect of the disturb'd motions proper to the differing, but now confounded, Liquors; or lastly, a consequent of some Impediment, which the new Texture of the mingled Liquors gives to the free passage of some Aethereal or other suttle Permeating Matter or Fluid, I shall not take upon me to de­termine; but rather to what I lately told you, of the at least seeming contrariety of the Spirit of Humane Blood to Acid Spirits, I shall add (what perhaps you did not expect) that this Hostility extends even to the invisible Effluvia or Emanations of these Liquors, as may be readi­ly seen by the following way, that I long since pitch'd upon to make [Page 180] it not only visible but manifest.

This is easily done by putting any strong Acid Spirit, as of Salt, or of Nitre, &c. into a Vial somewhat wide-mouth'd, and some well de­phlegm'd Spirit of Blood into ano­ther, for when I purposely inclin'd these Glasses so towards one another, that their Lips did almost touch, and their respective Liquors were ready to run out, tho neither of the Li­quors did at all visibly fume whilst they were kept asunder, tho the Glasses were unstopt, yet, as soon as the Liquors came to be approached in the way just now mention'd, the Fumes meeting each other in the Air would make little Coalitions, which would be manifestly visible in the form of ascending Smoke, which was wont at first to surprize the de­lighted Spectators; and this pro­duction of Smoke would continue a good while, if the Vials were not sever'd to make it cease, which upon their remove it would presently do. [Page 181] I have divers times practis'd a more easy way of making these Fumes conspicuous; but it belongs more to another Paper, and what has been now deliver'd may suffice for my present purpose.

Yet it may not be improper to take this occasion, to acquaint you with an Experiment that I made, to observe what the contrary Salts, that abound in our Spirit of Blood and in some Acid Liquors, would produce, when they were combin'd and brought into a dry form. I shall therefore annex a Transcript of the Experiment I speak of, as I find it registred in one of my Note Books.

[We took some pure Volatile Salt of Humane Blood, and having just satiated it with Spirit of Nitre, we slowly evaporated away the super­fluous moisture, that the Acid and Urinous Salts might be united into a dry Concretion, from which my design was to separate them again, the Salt of Blood in its Pristine form, [Page 182] and the Spirit of Nitre in the form of Salt-peter. To effect this, we put the compounded Salt into a small Bolt-head with a long and slender neck, and then added to it a conveni­ent quantity of Salt of Tartar, and as much distill'd Water as would suffice to make the Mixture some­what Liquid, to promote the Action of the contrary Salts upon one ano­ther. By which mutual Actions we suppos'd, that the Saline Spirits of Nitre, being more congruous to the fix'd Salt than to the Volatile, would forsake the Salt of Blood, (which it detain'd before from flying away,) and give it leave to sublime; and ac­cordingly having kept the Glass, wherein the mixture was made, for a competent time in a convenient heat, we obtain'd what we look'd for; since a good proportion of fine Volatile Salt ascended in a dry form, into the Neck.]

Having put to some of the Spirit of Humane Blood, a small quantity [Page 183] of exceeding strong Spirit of Nitre, there was upon the conflict of the two Liquors excited so great a quan­tity of thick white Fumes, that I could not but wonder at it, having never seen any thing of that kind comparable to it. And these Fumes Circulating long in the Cavity of the Glass, whereof perhaps a tenth part was full of Liquor, did many of them, tho the Vessel were wide­mouth'd, fall back and run down the sides of the Glass into the stag­nant mixture, as if they had com­pos'd streams of a Milky Liquor. And when at length, after these Fumes had disappear'd, we dropt in a little more of the same smoaking Spirit of Nitre, the like strange plenty of white Exhalations did presently ensue, and continue to Circulate a great while in the open Glass, the Mixture in the mean while appear­ing reddish. Being settled, and seeming to have been so discolour'd by a fattish substance, we put to it a [Page 184] little Rain or Distill'd Water, and having by Filtration separated it from the Faeces, and slowly evapora­ted the thus Clarified Liquor, the Sa­line parts shot into Crystals much of the shape, and crossing one another much after the manner, of Stiriae of Salt-peter; but their colour after a while appear'd Yellow, as if some Oyly substance were yet mix'd with them.

N. B. Tho on several occasions the Spirit of Blood appear'd thus. Oily, yet I remember I had not long since some Distill'd from another parcel of Blood, which after having been kept a year, was limpid and colourless like an ordinary Vegetable Spirit.

Some of the forementioned Cry­stalls being put upon well kindled Charcoals, did presently melt and burn away with a noise not unlike Salt-peter; but the flame seem'd not quite so halituous, and was more differing in colour, being not at all Blew but very Yellow. After the [Page 185] deflagration was quite past, I was curious to see if any fixt substance was left upon the Coals, and found it to be somewhat odd; for it was not of a light colour, nor of an in­coherent Body, like Ashes, but a little lump of a dirty colour'd mat­ter, in which I could not perceive an Alcalisate tast, and indeed scarce any at all. And this brittle substance (for such it was) being held in the flame, became red hot, without ap­pearing destroy'd by that Ignition, no more than afterwards it did by being a good while kept upon a glowing Coal.

The XV. (Secondary) Title. Of the Medicinal Vertues of Spirit of Humane Blood outwardly ap­ply'd.

HAving resided for many years last past, in a place so well furnished with learned Physicians as London is, I was careful to decline the occasions of entrenching upon their profession. And tho that care did not always secure me quiet, yet it did it so far, as that you, to whom my circumstances are not unknown, will not I hope expect, that I should say much upon my own experience, of the Medicinal Vertues of Spirit of Humane Blood; yet since I had some few opportunities to get Try­als made by practitioners in Physick, (who were pleas'd very willingly to make them for me,) that I may [Page 187] not leave this Subject wholly un­touch'd, I will subjoyn what oc­curs, either to my Memory, or to my Thoughts, about it.

When I consider, that, as far as I have observ'd, we do not meet re­gularly with any Acid Substance, (except perhaps in the Succus Pan­creaticus) in a sound Humane Body: For the fixt Salt of Blood does it self much resemble Sea-salt, whe­ther its Spirit be Acid or no; whereas the several parts of it, whether Solid, as Bones, or Liquid, as Blood, af­ford in Distillation store of Liquor impregnated with Volatile Salt; I am induc'd to think it probable, that the Spirit of Humane Blood, where­in such a Salt abounds, and where­of it is the main and predominant Ingredient, is like to have notable o­perations upon the Humane Body, and afford Medicines of great Effi­cacy in many of its Diseases. And, tho against most of these it is to be internally given, yet there are some [Page 188] against which it may be successful, when but Externally administred.

For, as well rectified Spirit of Humane Blood abounds with very subtile Particles, which in point of Tast, Odour, Diffusiveness and Pene­trancy, do much resemble those of strong Spirits of Urine, of Harts­horn, and of Sal-Armoniack; so one may very probably expect to find the same vertues in the Spirit of Blood, that Experience has manifested to be­long to those other Spirituous Liquors.

I have seldom, if ever, seen any Medicine operate so nimbly in Fits of the Mother, as a well dephlegm'd Spirit of Sal-Armoniac; which as I formerly noted is in effect mainly a Spirit of Urine; which it self is granted to be, a Liquor separated from Blood: for this Spirit being held to the Noses of Hysterical Women, has often in a trice, to the wonder of the By-standers fetch'd them out of their Fits. Nor is this the considerablest effect that I have [Page 189] had of this Spirit, for sometimes it has with a strange quickness brought to themselves Patients that were fallen to the ground, and either real­ly were, or were judg'd to be, Epi­leptical. And even in Agonizing Persons, where it could not re­cover them, it would frequently for the time, bring them out of their swoons, and make them know and understand the Assistants, and perhaps speak to them too: of which, if it were needful I could give more then one instance. But I shall rather add, that if nature be not quite spent, and the case wholly desperate, this may be of great advantage, because it allows the Physician some (tho perhaps but little) time, and a good opportunity to administer other Re­medies which the Patient, unless excited and brought to himself, would not be made to take. Of which I shall give you a memorable instance in a Patient of the very learned Dr. Willis's, who being in [Page 190] the Fitt of an Apoplexy, when he was necessitated to go from her out of the Town, and leave her in that Condition, he Committed her to the care of a very Ingenious Physician, who (whether by his direction or no, I remember not) came to me to acquaint me with it, complaining that they could not hope for any success of their Remedies, in regard she was so stupid, and had shut her mouth so, that they could not get any down; whereupon I gave him, and told him the use of, a very sub­tile Spirit that I had by me for such cases, tho I remember not, whether it were of Sal-armoniac, or some other Volatile and Liquid Alcaly; by applying which to her Nose, the Physician found he could presently make her open her Eyes, and in part come to her self; but then she would again, when the Glass was remov'd, soon relapse into her former Condi­tion. Wherefore having by those frequent Vicissitudes gain'd some [Page 191] time, and got a Medicine for his pur­pose he then held the glass to her Nose for a good while together; by which means she so recovered her senses, that she knew the By-standers, and being exhorted to take a Medicine that was offered her, which they told her would do her much good, she understood them, and swallowed it; and tho afterwards, upon the removal of the Vial, she relaps'd into a senseless state, yet by the help of the Urinous Spirit they kept her alive, till the very brisk Medicine she had taken began to act its part, and make a Copious Evacuation, which did not only rouse her, but little by little relieve her; So that in a short time she happily escap'd a danger, that was judg'd to be very hardly, if at all, superable by any Medicines. But here I must give you notice, that in such difficult and desperate Cases I am not content that a Vial with a somewhat long neck be held to the nose, but sometimes order that little [Page 192] Pellets of Lint or Cotton, or of thin rags, be dipt into the Spirit and thrust up into the Nostrils. And the same thing I would advise, if need should require it, in the administration of Spirit of Humane Blood. And as, for external uses, I make a particu­lar Preparation of Spirit of Sal-Armoniac, or of Urine, that is more strong and penetrant, then that which is made the more ordinary way: So, if I had been furnish'd with store of Spirit of Blood, I would have hand­led it in a not very unlike manner. And however with the little I had, I made the following Experiment, for Tryals sake. We took some dry'd Volatile Salt of Humane Blood, (being then better able to spare that than Spirit,) and put to it as much Spirit of Nitre, as would just serve to satiate it; and then by Evapora­tion we obtain'd thence an Anomalous kind of compounded Salt, which afterwards, because we desired a Medicine in a dry form, we sublim'd [Page 193] from a Convenient quantity of a well chosen fixed Alcaly, (if I mistake not, we took an equall weight of Salt of Tartar) fit to retain, not only the Phlegmatick parts, but the Oleagi­nous too, which oftentimes lye con­ceal'd in Volatile Salts and Liquors, wherein they do not at all at first appear, and unto which the greatest part of their foetid or offensive smell may probably be imputed. By this means we obtain'd a dry white Salt of a very piercing smell. But I had no opportunity to try this sublim'd Salt upon diseased Persons: for whose sake, I also made use of another way to bring over the Saline part of Blood in a Liquid form, (which for the use of smelling I for the most part prefer to the dry) for which pur­pose we mix'd two parts of dry'd Humane Blood, with three parts of Lime, and then distill'd them with a pretty strong Fire, by which means we obtain'd, as we expected, a pretty deal of Spirit unaccompany­ed with any Volatile Salt in a dry [Page 194] form, which Spirit seem'd, even without Rectification, to have a stronger smell, and a more fiery tast then other Spirit of Blood, after a Rectification. And I guess'd that if we had taken more or stronger Lime, we should have had less Oyl, and a more piercing Spirit, since the Lime would probably have retain'd most of the Oyl, and perhaps all the Superfluous Moisture.

I have likewise often found, that slighter Head-aches have been cured in less (and perhaps much less) time than a quarter of an hour, by the base smell of some of these well depurated Volatile Alcalies; and if I misre­member not, I have been relieved particularly by that of H. B.) and I have very rarely for these many years us'd, or (thanks be to God) needed any other Medicine to free my self from pains of the Head. And even Violent and durable pains of that part have been, if not quite re­mov'd yet much lessen'd, by the same remedy often reiterated, which I have [Page 195] likewise observ'd to be usually enough very effectual in faintings, especially those of Hysterical and Hypochon­driacal Women; which makes it probable, that our Spirit of Humane Blood, which is a Liquor that in many Qualities manifestly resembles other Volatile Alcalies, (and per­haps surpasses them,) and which, when well freed from its Oyl, can by few, if by any, be distinguisht from other Urinous Spirits, may by its odour be available in the forementi­oned Maladies. I expect you should tell me, that the ill scent of Spirit of Blood will hinder that sex from useing it externally, to divers of whose Distempers it is the most proper. To this it may be answer'd, that most of those that find themselves in pain or danger, would be content to be eas'd or rescu'd by an unpleasant Me­dicine. For we may apply to health, what Vespasian said of the Tax that was paid him, upon the score of Urine, Lucri bonus odor ex re qualibet. And [Page 196] accordingly we see, that Ladies them­selves ordinarily make use in such Ca­ses of burnt Feathers, and in these and some others of Castoreum, Galbanum and Asafoetida, whose smells are offen­sive enough to men. But for the more delicate and Nauseous Patients, one may much lessen the offensive odour of our Spirit, by long Digestions, or by reiterated, or skilful Rectifications. And if even then they cannot be recon­cil'd to the odour of so good a Remedy, that odour may (as was formerly inti­mated on another occasion) be cor­rected by uniting it with a Conveni­ent quantity of highly rectified Spirit of Wine; by which means it may perhaps (for I am not sure on't) lose somewhat of its penetrancy, as well as of its Urinous odour, but yet may remain subtile and active enough for divers good purposes. And if you would not only correct the smell of the Spirit of Blood, but make it afford a fragrant one, you may do it by dissolving in the Spirit of [Page 197] Wine a convenient quantity of some Aromatick, or other well scented, Chymical Oyl, whose proportion may be found by letting it fall drop after drop into the Vial, and frequent­ly shaking it to mingle the Liquors well, till you find by your smell, That the offensive odour of the Spirit of Blood is sufficiently obscured; or (if you will not only correct it, but perfume the Liquor) that the mix­ture is sufficiently imbued with the grateful Odour of the Oyl, where­with you compounded it.

I shall add on this occasion, that, if we aim chiefly at correcting or changing the smell of Spirit of Blood, we may usefully employ a Chymi­cal Oyl, more mild or temperate than the Aromatick ones of Cinna­mon or Cloves. For Tryal purpose­ly made has inform'd me, that, if the Oyl of Rhodium (which is much esteem'd by perfumers) be sincerely and skilfully made, (which I fear it is not over frequently) a very few [Page 198] drops of it will make an ounce of Alcohole of Wine so fragrant, that this Solution being shaken together with a convenient quantity (perhaps much less than an equal one) of well rectify'd Spirit of Humane Blood, there will emerge a mixture, that I found to have a scent brisk enough, and yet to be not only free from stink, but imbu'd, tho not strongly, with the Odoriferous Particles of the Rhodium.

I must not here omit, that di­vers happy Practitioners, as well Physicians as profess'd Chymists, do highly extol the Oyl of Amber, a­gainst Convulsion fits and other Di­stempers of the Brain and Genus Ner­vosum: And indeed Experience has so recommended some Medicines of Amber to me, that in some cases there are few that I more willingly give or take. And besides the great Character that Helmont has left of Amber dissolv'd in Spirit of Wine, Experience has brought such Credit [Page 199] to it in divers cases, (for there are some cases and constitutions wherein I suspect it of too much heat) that many Patients, as well Women as Men, had much rather endure the smell, than deny themselves the be­nefit of the Tincture or the Oyl. And if you have any such Patients, perhaps you will not be ill pleas'd to be advertiz'd, that you may ac­cording to the formerly mentioned way, employ the high Tincture of Amber taken with Spirit of Wine; to correct the Odour, and encrease (at least in number) the Vertues of Spirit of Humane Blood. And because it requires some skill, and not seldom a pretty deal of time, to draw this Tincture from Crude Am­ber, tho finely powder'd, I be­thought my self of the following way, to draw speedily a strong Tin­cture from the Oyl it self; for, tho this Oyl will not, even by long sha­king, dissolve throughly in Spirit of Wine, as the Aromatick and other [Page 200] Oyls lately mentioned will do; yet I found that by well shaking those two Liquors together, and leaving them to settle at leisure; tho they would separate into distinct Masses, yet the Spirit of Wine would even in the cold extract from the Oyl a fine Tincture of a high Yellow co­lour, little, if at all, different from that of the Oyl it self. Of which Tincture I afterwards mix'd as much with Spirit of Blood, as suffic'd to ob­scure the Urinous smell, and make that of the Oyl of Amber somewhat predominant, and as we judg'd, more subtile and brisk than it was before.

Three things more I have to inti­mate concerning the external use of our Spirit of Blood. The first is, that by what has been said of the good effects it may have, when (af­ter it has been, by the lately men­tioned or other preparations, imbu'd with Chymical Oyls) it is smelt to, I would by no means be thought to deny, that it is after these changes [Page 201] fit to be also inwardly employ'd, as I shall have ere long occasion more particularly to declare. My second Admonition shall be, that, whereas in some mixtures it will be hard to hit upon the proportion of the Chymi­call Oyl, or other things employ'd to correct the smell of the Spirit of Blood, so exactly, but that after the mixture has had some time to settle, a separation of some oleaginous parts will be made: The bulk of the mixture may be freed from it, by pouring all into a Glass Tunnel somewhat sharp at the bottom, after the manner us'd among Chymists to separate Oyls from other Liquors, and then the mixture that will run through before the Oyl, may be kept close stopt in a Vial by it self, and the fragrant Oyl (unless it be of Cinna­mon or Cloves) reserv'd for other uses. And whereas frequently, if not most commonly, if the Vinous Spirit were sufficiently Rectified, there will, by the Concoagulation [Page 202] of the Saline and Urinous Particles, be produc'd a kind of Salt; you may either pour the Liquid part from it into another Vial, and use each of them separately without more ado, or else without thus se­parating them, you may sublime with a very gentle warmth, as much as will ascend from the rest of the Mixture in a dry form. And this Sal Volatile Oleosum of Spirit of Blood, when it was duly prepar'd, I found to be depriv'd of its former bad scent, and perhaps endow'd with a fragrant one, and yet to have an Odour more subtile, brisk, and pier­cing, than I had thought it reasonable to expect. The third and last thing I would advertise, is, that besides those Medicinal uses, that may be made of the Odours of Spirit of Blood Simple or Compounded, it may have considerable Vertues, ap­ply'd in substance as a Liquor, by way of Fomentation or otherwise; which I think the more likely, be­cause [Page 203] the Spirit of Sal-Armoniac has been much commended, for mitiga­ting the sharp pains of the Gout, and is said to have been successfully us'd in the Erysipelas. And when I con­sider, that our Liquor is very Spi­rituous and Penetrating, and so fit to strengthen and resolve, and also of an Alcalisate nature, which fits it to mortify Acidities, it seems very probable, that, by vertue of these and other friendly Qualities, it may, by being apply'd in its Liquid form, prove good in divers cases, where the Chyrurgions or the Physicians help is wont to be requir'd.

But 'tis high time for me to pro­ceed, from the External to the In­ternal uses of the Spirit of Humane Blood,

The XVI. (Secondary) Title. Of the Medicinal Vertues of Spi­rit of Humane Blood inwardly us'd.

I Have long been prone to think, that 'tis not necessary the num­ber of specifically different Morbific Matters (as Physicians call actually noxious Humours or other substances) in the Humane Body, should be near so great as that of the Diseases 'tis obnoxious to; and consequently, that every Disease, that has a distinct Name assign'd to it, does not always require a distinct sort of Peccant Matter to produce it; but that the same hurtful Humour, or other A­gent, may produce sicknesses that pass for differing ones, (and according­ly have distinct Denominations) on­ly as the same Morbific Agents bad [Page 205] effects are diversify'd, partly by its own greater or lesser quantity, and more or less active Qualities, and part­ly (and indeed chiefly) by the particu­lar Natures, or Structures and Situa­tions, of the parts that it invades. To this Opinion I have been led by divers Inducements, that I shall not now stay to set down; especially, since the probability of it may be easily deduc'd, from what frequent­ly enough occurs among sick persons, of the Metastases of Morbific Mat­ters; the same Acid or Sharp Hu­mour, for instance, producing some­times a Colic, sometimes after that a Palsey, sometimes a Cough, some­times a Flux of the Belly, sometimes an Ophthalmi [...], sometimes a violent Head-ach, sometimes Convulsions, and sometimes other Distempers; as the Peccant Humour, or other Noxi­ous Matter, happens primarily to invade, or afterwards to be transla­ted to, this or that particular part of the Body. And to the hitherto pro­pos'd [Page 206] Notion 'tis very agreeable, that one Remedy, by being capable victoriously to oppugn one or two of the principal kinds of Morbific Matter, may be able to cure differing Diseases; especially if it be endow'd with any variety of active Vertues. And upon this ground I am apt to think, that the Spirit of Humane Blood, skilfully Prepar'd and Ad­ministred, may be a good Remedy in no small number of Internal Af­fections of the Humane Body. And indeed Volatile Alcalies in general, have been in England so prosper­ously made use of in Physick, since the year 1656, (about which time I had the good fortune to contribute so to introduce them, as to bring them by degrees into request, by di­vulging easy ways of making them, as well as by declaring their Vertues) that I see small cause to doubt, but that they will hereafter be more ge­nerally esteem'd and employ'd, than yet they are, and will little by little [Page 207] invite Physicians to prefer them to a great many vulgar Remedies, that for want of better are yet in com­mon use, tho they clog or weaken the Patient, and want divers advan­tageous Qualities that may be found in Volatile Alcalies. For (to apply what has been said to our present Subject, as an instance that may serve for other Urinous Spirits) the Spirit of Humane Blood is endowed with divers Qualities, that are both Active and Medicinal. For it mor­tifies Acid Salts, which are the cau­ses of several Diseases, and, if I mistake not, of some that are not wont to be imputed to them. It is a great Re­solvent, and on that score fit to open Obstructions, that produce more than a few Diseases. It is both Dia­phoretick and Diuretick, and on both these accounts fit to assist Nature, to discharge divers Noxious Salts, and expel divers Contagious or Malignant Corpuscles that offend her. It resists Putrefaction and Coagulation of the [Page 208] Blood, gives it a briskness and Spiri­tuosity that promotes the free Cir­culation of the Blood, to which it is Congeneal; by which means (tho not perhaps by these only) it becomes a good Cordial, and probably a­gainst some Poysons an Antidote. And, which is none of the least, nor least extensive, Vertues, it is very friendly to the Genus Nervosum, and upon that account is like to be very proper in Fits of the, Mother (as they are call'd,) Convulsions, some sorts of Head aches, Palseys, Incipient Apo­plexies, some sort of Asthmas, &c. It is also Balsamical in some Circum­stances, and may have divers other Vertues that have not yet been ob­serv'd. For a Medicine that does not weaken, not cause great Evacua­tions, nor clog the Stomach, nor is blemish'd with the excess of any manifest Quality, but has in it self a Complex of so many useful Pow­ers, may reasonably be suppos'd, likely to be available in more than [Page 209] a few Diseases; since a good part of those that Humane Bodies are lyable to, may be powerfully oppugn'd by some of those excellent Qualities, one or more, whose Confluence may be found in the Spirit of Hu­mane Blood.

I presume therefore that one may rationally propose it, as likely to be a good Remedy in many Distempers, especially wherein either Spirit of Urine, or the Urinous Spirit of Sal-Armoniac, have been found success­ful Medicines; such as Hysterical Fits, Pleurisies, Coughs, some Scor­butick Distempers, Convulsions, A­poplexies, some kinds of Feavers, Head-aches, the Jaundise, &c. But I formerly prepar'd you not to ex­pect that I should say much of the Virtues of the Spirit of Humane Blood (inwardly given,) upon my own personal experience. And there­fore I shall not scruple to tell you, that Helmont himself, as little as he is apt to praise other than his own [Page 210] or the Paracelsian Arcana, more than once commends the Spirit of Cruor, though that be in his sense of the Word, Note: Spiritus Vitae N. 16. Pag. M. 122. not yet fully ela­borated Humane Blood) against the Epilepsy, which he says it will cure even in adult persons, which is a Vertue he expresly denies to the Spi­rit of Urine. And a famous Writer about the Hermetick Physick (but, if I mistake not, better vers'd in di­vers other parts of Learning, than in Chymical Arcana,) tho he so far depretiates Spagyrical Preparations, as to commend the Utility but of a very few of them, is pleas'd to put the Distill'd Liquor of Blood into the number of those very few that he vouchsafes a good Character to.

I am the more inclin'd to give Credit to these praises of Spirit of Blood, because, as I remember, this was the Medicine that I made use of in the following Case. A young [Page 211] Lady, in whose family the Con­sumption was an hereditary disease, was molested with a Violent and Stubborn Cough, that was judg'd consumptive, and look'd upon by those that gave her Physick, as not to be cured by any other way, then a seasonable remove from London into the French Air; but she was already so far gone and weakened, and there remain'd so much of the Winter, that 'twas judg'd she would die be­fore the season would make it any way fit for her to undertake so long and troublesome a journey; but if she could be kept alive till the end of the Spring, there would be some hopes she might in France recover. On this occasion being solicited by some friends of hers and mine, to try what I could do to preserve her, I sent her some Spirit of Humane Blood very carefully prepar'd and rectify'd, (to which I gave some name that I do not well remember,) upon the use of which she manifestly [Page 212] mended, notwithstanding the un­friendliness of the Season; insomuch that about the end of February, she had gain'd relief and strength enough to venture to cross the Seas, and make a journey to Montpellier, whence in Autumn she brought home good looks and recovery. If I much misremember not, the same Spirit of Blood, made very pure and subtile by the help of a Lamp Fur­nace, was the Medicine that I put into the Hands of an Ingenious and Successful Physician, who complain'd to me that he had a Patient, that had quite puzzled him, as well as baffled the endeavours of other emi­nent Doctors, whom the difficulty of the case had invited at several times to try their skill upon him. This man was frequently Obnoxious to such violent and tormenting fits of the Head-ach, that he could not endure the light, and was offended with almost every noise or motion that reach'd his Ears; insomuch [Page 213] that he was forc'd to give over his Profession, which was that of a Tay­lor: But upon the constant use of the before mentioned Spirit of Blood, (for the other Medicines he took were much inferior to it, and had not before been available) he received such relief, as made him with great joy and thankfulness re­turn to the exercise of his Trade, and the Physician, to whom I gave the remedy for him, told me one cir­cumstance, too considerable to be here omitted▪ Namely, That the Patient having by our famous Har­vey's advice, been us'd to bleed once in two or three Months, the Physici­an counsell'd him, notwithstanding his recovery, not abruptly to break off his ancient custom, and the Patient thereupon sent for the same Chyrur­geon that had been formerly wont to let him Blood, and to complain of the great badness of his Blood; but when this Chyrurgeon who knew not what had been done to the Patient, [Page 214] came to open a Vein again, and per­ceived what kind of Blood it afford­ed, he was so surpriz'd, that he stop'd the operation, and asked the man with wonder, how he came by such Florid Blood, adding, that 'twas pitty to deprive him of so well con­ditioned a Liquor.

The Medicinal Vertues hitherto mentioned belong to the Spirit of Humane Blood, as 'tis pure and simple: But 'tis not improbable that it may acquire other, and perhaps nobler Faculties; if it be dexterously corrected, diversified, or united with fit Ingredients, that is, in a word, skilfully altered or compounded.

These things may be performed several ways. For they may be done either by uniting as well as one can, by long digestion, or frequent Cohobations, the Spirit of Humane Blood with the Oyls, Salt, and (if need be) Phlegm, of the same Con­crete, into such a kind of Mixture as some Chymists call Clyssus.

[Page 215] Or, 2. By uniting the Spirit of Blood with Acids, as with Spirit of Nitre, Spirit of Vinegar, Spirit of Verdegrease, Oyl of Vitriol, &c. and employing these mixtures, either in their Liquid form, or reduced by Evaporation into Chrystals or other Salts; and making use of these either as they are, or after a kind of Analysis of them.

Or, 3. By uniting our Spirit with Metalline Solutions, as of Gold, Silver, Mercury, and with solution of Mini­um made with Spirit of Vinegar, by mixture of which Liquor with Spirit of Blood, and a slow Evaporation of them, I remember I have had pret­ty store of finely figured Chry­stals.

Or, 4. By dissolving in Spirit of Blood carefully Dephlegm'd Sul­phur opened with Salt of Tartar.

Or else, By dissolving in it some Metalline Bodies, as Copper, Zink, and Iron, which last will afford a Martial Liquor, that differing much [Page 216] from other preparations of Steel, that are wont to be made with Acids, may probably have some Vertues, distinct from those of the known Remedies made of that Metal.

But I cannot stay to enumerate the several ways whereby the Spirit of Humane Blood may be made ser­viceable to the Medicinal Art. Yet one Preparation there is, which tho I have already taken notice of in the foregoing Title, and therefore can scarce mention without some repeti­tion, yet I think I ought not to pre­ [...]ermit it on this occasion; partly be­cause whereas it was formerly pro­pos'd with respect only to the out­ward uses of it, I shall now consider it with reference to the inward; and partly because by this way of pro­ceeding we may at once correct, diversifie and compound our Spi­rit of Blood.

This Operation may be perform'd two ways, whereof the former is more simple than the latter. The [Page 217] first is, to add to well Rectify'd Spi­rit of Blood, a double weight, or a­bout an equal one, (as the Liquors, especially the Volatile Alcaly, are more or less strong) of Alcohole of Wine. For these Liquors being well shaken together, will in very great part coagulate into Salt, which with a very gentle heat will su­blime in a dry form, + in which I found it to have lost almost all its offensive smell. And tho against this way of proceeding I know it may be objected, (as was formerly intimated) that the efficacy of the Medicine may, as well as the Uri­nous smell, be much weakned by this Preparation; yet I found this Salt to retain a considerable degree of Quickness and Penetrancy, which its Volatility kept me from thinking strange. And experience has per­swaded me, that divers of these compounded, or, if I may so stile them, Resulting Salts, (which some Chy­mists call Salia Enixa, for all agree [Page 218] not in the Sense of that name) tho they seem to have their Activity clog'd, may have considerable ope­rations both in Chymistry and Phy­sick. And why the Emergent Salt we speak of, may not be of that number, I see no sufficient cause; (N. B.) especially since such a kind of Mixture, tho made with another Urinous Spirit, has had such effects in Feavers, as I thought extraordi­nary. Nor is the Liquor that our Compounded Salt leaves behind, to be thrown away: since if it be De­phlegmed, it may afford a not De­spicable Liquor, both for Medical and Mechanical uses, of which it may here suffice to have given you in ge­neral this hint.

And if the more simple way of altering the Spirit of Humane Blood, be carry'd on a little further, by dissolving in the Alcohole of Wine, before the conjunction of the two Spirits be made, a convenient pro­portion (as perhaps a Twentyeth or [Page 219] Twenty-fourth part) of an Essential Chymical Oyl, as of Cloves, Anise-seeds, Marjoram, &c. the Volatile Salt that will be sublim'd from this Mixture, will not only be depriv'd of its stink, but endow'd with the smell and the Relish of the Oyl; which by being thus united with a Salt very subtile and friendly to na­ture, will less overpower and offend the Brain and Stomach, than meer Chymical Oyls are wont to do; and being associated with such Agile and penetrating Corpuscles, will with them gain admission into the more inward Recesses of the Body, and there exercise the Vertues that belong to the Vegetables that afford­ed the Oyls, or at least to the Oyls themselves. In these odoriferous Aromatick Mixtures the Oleaginous Particles are, by the intervention of the Saline ones, brought to mix readily with other Liquors, and even with Aqueous Vehicles, and to con­tinue long enough mix'd, for the [Page 220] Patient to take them commodiously. And thus by this one method there may be a multitude of Salia Volati­lia Oleosa, that is, of pleasing, subtile and efficacious Remedies for inward uses, prepar'd, even as many as the Physician or Chymist shall please to make Essential Oyls, (or others that will dissolve in Alcohole of Wine;) and if these be drawn from Cephalick Plants, as Marjoram, Rosemary, La­vender, &c. or from Cephalick Spices, as Nutmegs, Cinnamon, &c. they will probably afford very brisk and grate­ful Medicines to relieve and comfort the Brain and Spirits; as they may the Heart, Liver, and other Viscera, if in the sublimation the Saline Par­ticles of Blood be associated with those of Oyls, drawn from Vege­tables whose Vertues do peculiarly respect those parts.

Other ways might be here pro­pos'd of making Remedies, whereof the Spirit of Blood should be the main ingredient. But I willingly [Page 221] leave that work to your self, and those of your profession, if you think fit to prosecute it; since my present task does not require that I should write like what I am not, a profess'd Physician, but like what I endeavour to be, a Diligent Natural Historian. And for the same reason I purposely forbear, to insert here some Chymi­cal processes that I have met with of Remedies that admit of Distill'd Blood, tho I have also declin'd the mention of them for two other Rea­sons, one, that the Authors do not recommend them upon their own Experience, and the other, that these Medicines being much, more com­pounded than those I lately propos'd, wherein our Spirit is mingled but with some one Chymical Oyl or o­ther, diluted with Alcohole of Wine; their preparations are less fit for my Design; which leads me to consider the Effects of Humane Blood upon Patients, less as they are Sanative, than as they are Signs [Page 222] of Qualities, whose knowledge tends to the discovery of the Nature of Spirit of Humane Blood, and so of that of Blood it self.

And this, Sir, it may suffice to have at present set down, touching the History of the Spirit of Humane Blood; of which, and of the other parts constituting that Red Body, or obtainable from it, I might have given you a far less incomplete Ac­count, if I had had more leisure; and if, for want of Materials to make Experiments upon the entire Liquor, and the Concreted and Serous Parts of it distinctly, and especially to af­ford a sufficient quantity of the Spi­rit, I had not been so straitned that I was fain to leave many things un­try'd, and to try some others in much less quantities, and much more unac­curately than otherwise should have been done by,