A compendious body of chymistry, which will serve as a guide and introduction both for understanding the authors which have treated of the theory of this science in general: and for making the way plain and easie to perform, according to art and method, all operations, which teach the practise of this art, upon animals, vegetables, and minerals, without losing any of the essential vertues contained in them. By N. le Fèbure apothecary in ordinary, and chymical distiller to the King of France, and at present to his Majesty of Great-Britain.

To extract the Spirit of Wine.

FILL up your (Vesica) or glasse-body, half a foot near to the mouth with a good strong and generous wine, well defecated, then cover it with a Head, and lute it, administring a soft and gentle fire, untill the drops begin to fall, and the pipe of the Moors head grows so hot, that your hand cannot rest upon it without burning: then stop the Furnace on all sides, and keep the water in the Tunne (through which passes the neck or worme) very cool, guiding the fire so judiciously and so moderately, then what∣ever falls into the recipient may fall alwayes cold; for in doing so you spare the trouble of a Rectification, because phlegm cannot easily ascend and mix it self with the Spirit, when the heat is well proportion'd and fitted to the work: the first Spirit drawn must ever be layd by it self, as the most pure and most subtil; and the distillation continued, until the distilling liquor grows insipid: this phlegmatick Spi••it which comes last, must be mixed again with the next wine you are to distil, and so proceed until you have a suf∣ficient quantity of Spirit or aqua vitae drawn, to supply a rectifi∣cation in the same glasse-body; But now in this part of the ope∣ration, above all things the fire must be heeded, and skilfully go∣vern'd, and cold water timely supplyed and often changed, because it easily will contract heat, the vapors of these fiery Spirits being much hotter then those of grosse bodies. That which remains af∣ter the distillation of Wine must not be thrown away; but to the contrary evaporated to the consistency of a black and clammy ex∣tract, much like unto pitch, which must be distilled in a Retort, with open fire, and thence will come forth an acid and sharp vo∣latile Spirit, and a black and ponderous Oyle, all participating much of Empyelum, and having a strong fiery smell, what remains

in the Retort must be calcined in a crucible or a glased earthen pot until it comes to a perfect white; then lixiviate it, and filtrate, evaporate and dry to a Sun, which is to be reverberated in the Crucible unto rednesse, without putting neverthelesse the matter therein contained in fusion, then expose it to the ayr to dissolve it and subtiliate the parts thereof; and so will it divest it self with many more viscous and clammy feculencey's that are to be sepa∣rated afterwards by alteration, then evaporate or separate the wa∣ter from this Salt again upon ashes, and being dry, gloom it in a Crucible without melting, and expose again to the ayre until dis∣solution, then filtrate, evaporate and dry again, and so proceed reiterating till seven times, or what would yet be better, until the salt leaves no more seculenceys in the filtration, and that when you shall extract the moistnesse of the dissolution in B. M. to the fourth part, you have a clear chrystalline white and transparent Salt: then may you confidently boast you have a true salt of Wine, which to a diligent, curious and knowing Artist, may serve as a Key to open all natural bodies, after the same hath been acuted with its Spirits, and made capable to fly and ascend with the same: for then will they not only penetrate into the bodies of Vege∣tables and Animals, but even also will act upon Minerals and Me∣tals, provided they have been first destroyed and made fit to be extracted by this noble Menstruum, which we above all things do recommend, to such as have a desire of successe in Chymical Operations.