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forty centuries of ink-第66节

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vinegar impregnated with saturn。



〃Take an ounce of quick…lime; and half an ounce of

orpin; powder and mix them; put your mixture into

a matrass; and pour upon it five or six ounces of water;

that the water may be three fingers breadth above

the powder; stop your matrass with cork; wax; and a

bladder; set it in digestion in a mild sand heat ten or

twelve hours; shaking the matrass from time to time;

then let it settle; the liquid becomes clear like common

water。



〃Burn cork; and quench it in aqua vitae; then dissolve

it in a sufficient quantity of water; wherein you

shall have melted a little gumm arabick; in order to

make an ink as black as common ink。 You must

separate the cork that can't dissolve; and if the ink be

not black enough; add more cork as before。



〃Get the impregnation of saturn made with vinegar;

distilled as I have shewn before; or else dissolve

so much salt of saturn as a quantity of water

is able to receive: write on paper with a new

pen dipt in this liquor; take notice of the place

where you writ; and let it dry; nothing at all will

appear。



〃Write upon the invisible writing with the ink

made of burnt cork; and let it dry; that which you

have writ will appear as if it had been done with common

ink。



〃Dip a little cotton in the first liquor made of lime

and orpin; but the liquor must be first settled and

clear; rub the place you writ upon with this cotton

and that which appeared will presently disappear; and

that which was not seen will appear。



ANOTHER EXPERIMENT。



Take a book four fingers breadth in bigness; or

bigger if you will: write on the first leaf with your

impregnation of saturn; or else put a paper that you

have writ upon between the leaves; turn to t' other

side of the Book; and having observed as near as may

be the opposite place to your writing; rub the last leaf

of the book with cotton dipt in liquor made of quick…

lime and orpin; nay and leave the cotton on the place

clap a folded paper presently upon it; and shutting

the book quickly; strike upon it with your hand four

or five good strokes; then turn the book; and clap it

into a press for half a quarter of an hour; take it out

and open it; you'll find the place appear black; where

you had writ with the invisible ink。 The same thing

might be done through a wall; if you could provide

something to lay on both sides; that might hinder the

evaporation of the spirits。



REMARKS。



〃These operations are indeed of no use; but because

they are somewhat surprizing; I hope the curious will

not take it ill; that I make this small digression。



〃It is a hard matter to explicate well the effects I

have now related; nevertheless I shall endeavour to

illustrate them a little; without having recourse to

sympathy and antipathy; which are general terms; and

do not explicate nothing at all; but before I begin; we

must remark several things。



〃The first is; that it is an essential point to quench

the coal of cork in aqua vitae; that the visible ink may

become black with it。



〃Secondly; that the blackness of this ink does

proceed from the fuliginosity or sooty part of the coal

of the cork which is exceeding porous and light; and

that this fuliginosity is nothing but an oil very much

rarefied。



〃Thirdly; that the impregnation of saturn; which

makes the invisible ink; is only a lead dissolved; and

held up imperceptibly in an acid liquor; as I have said;

when I spoke of this metal。



〃Fourthly; that the first of these liquors in a mixture

of the alkali and igneous parts of quick…lime with

the sulphureous substance of arsenick; for the orpin

is a sort of arsenick; as I said before。



〃All this being granted; as no body can reasonably

think otherwise; I now affirm; that the reason why the

visible ink does disappear; when the defacing liquor is

rubbed upon it; is that this liquor consisting of an

alkali salt; and parts that are oily and penetrating;

this mixture does make a kind of soap; which is able

to dissolve any fuliginous substance; such as burnt

cork; especially when it has been already rarefied and

disposed for dissolution by aqua vitae; after the same

manner as common soap; which is compounded of oil;

and an alkali salt; is able to take away any spots made

by grease。



〃But it may be demanded; why after the dissolution

the blackness does disappear。



〃I answer; that the fuliginous parts have been so

divided; and locked up in the sulphureous alkali of

the liquor; that they are become invisible; and we see

every day that very exact solutions do render the thing

dissolved imperceptible; and without colour。



〃The little alkali salt which is in the burnt cork

may also the better serve to joyn with the alkali of

the quick…lime; and to help the dissolution。



〃As for the invisible ink; it is easy to apprehend

how that appears black; when the same liquor; which

serves to deface the other; is used upon it。 For whereas

the impregnation of saturn is only a lead suspended by

the edges; of the acid liquor; this lead must needs revive;

and resume its black colour; when that which held it

rarefied is entirely destroyed; so the alkali of quick…

lime being filled with the sulphurs of arsenick becomes

very proper to break and destroy the acids; and to

agglutinate together the particles of lead。



It happens that the visible ink does disappear by

reason that the parts which did render it black have

been dissolved; and the invisible ink does also appear

because the dissolved parts have been revived。



〃Quick…lime and; orpiment being mixed and digested

together in water; do yield a smell much like

that which happens when common sulphur is boiled in

a lixivium; of tartar。 This here is the stronger; because

the sulphur of arsenick is loaded with certain salts

that make a stronger impression on the smell。 Quick…

lime is an alkali that operates in this much like the

salt of tartar in the other operation; you must not

leave the matrass open; because the force of this

water doth consist in a volatile。



〃The lime retains the more fixt part of the arsenick

and the sulphurs that come forth are so much the

more subtile; as they are separated from what did fix

them before; and this appears to be so; because the

sulphurs must of necessity pass through all the book to

make a writing of a clear and invisible liquor appear

black and visible: and to facilitate this penetration the

book is strook; and then turned about; because the spirit

or volatile sulphurs do always tend upwards; you must

likewise clap it into a press; that these sulphurs may

not be dispersed in the air。 I have found; if that these

circumstances are not observed; the business fails。

Furthermore that which persuades me that the sulphurs

do pass through the book; and not take a circuit

to slip in by the sides; as many do imagine; is

that after the book is taken out of the press; all the

inside is found to be scented with the smell of this

liquor。



〃There is one thing more to be observed; which is;

that the infusion of quick…lime and orpin be newly

made; because otherwise it will not have force enough

to penetrate。 The three liquors should be made in

different places too; for if they should approach near

one another; they would be spoiled。



〃This last effect does likewise proceed from the defacing

liquor; for because upon the digestion of quick…

lime and orpin; it is a thing impossible for some of the

particles will exalt; stop the vessel as close as you

will; the air impregnated with these little bodies does

mix with; and alter the inks; insomuch that the visible

ink does thereby become the less black; and the invisible

ink does also acquire a little blackness。〃



Priceless MSS。 in immense number written in

periods between the third and thirteenth centuries

have been destroyed by modern scholars in experimentations

based on the false theory that the faded

inks on them; whether above or below other inks

(palimpsests); contained iron。



Sulphocyanide of potassium is highly esteemed as a

reagent for the restoration of writing; if iron is present。

Theoretically; it is one of the best for such a purpose

if employed with acetic acid。 It causes; however; such

a decided contraction of parchment as to be utterly

useless; but for paper MSS。 is excellent。 The metallic

sulphides generally pronounced harmless; causes

the writing to soften and become illegible in a short

time。 On the other hand; yellow prussiate of potash;

with acetic acid in successive operations is of great

service in treating the most perplexing palimpsests。



Ink which badly corrodes a steel pen need not

necessarily be condemned; it may contain just the qualities

which make it bind to the paper and render it

more durable。



Some inks which are fairly permanent against time

if not tampered with; ca

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