M. Dumas, speaking before the British Association, had

shown that when three simple bodies displayed great analogies in their properties, such as chlorine, bromide, and iodine, barium, strontium, and calcium, the chemical equivalent of the intermediate body is represented by the arithmetical mean between the equivalents of the other two. Such a statement well showed the isomerism of ele- mentary substances, and proved that metals, however dissimiiar in outward appearance, were composed of the same matter differently arranged and proportioned. This theory successfully demolishes the difficulties in the way of transmutation. Again, Dr. Prout says that the chemical equivalents of nearly all elementary substances are the multiples of one among them. Thus, if the equivalent of hydrogen be taken for the unit, the equivalent of every other substance will be an exact multiple of it — carbon will be represented by six, azote by fourteen, oxygen by sixteen, zinc by thirty-two. But, pointed out M. Figuier's friend, if the molecular masses in compound substances have so simple a connection, does it not go to prove that all natural bodies are formed of one principle, differently arranged and condensed to produce all known compounds ?
If transmutation is thus theoretically possible, it only remains to show by practical experiment that it is strictly in accordance with chemical laws, and by no means in- clines to the supernatural. At this juncture the young alchemist proceeded to liken the action of the Philosophers' Stone on metals to that of a ferment on organic matter. When metals are melted and brought to red heat, a mole- cular change may be produced analogous to fermentation. Just as sugar, under the influence of a ferment, may be changed into lactic acid without altering its constituents, so metals can alter their character under the influence of the Philosophers' Stone. The explanation of the latter case is no more difficult than that of the former. The ferment does not take any part in the chemical changes it brings about, and no satisfactory explanation of its effects can be found either in the laws of affinity or in the forces of electricity, light, or heat. As with the ferment, the required quantity of the Philosophers' Stone is infinitesimal. Medicine, philosophy, every modern science was at one time a source of such errors and extravagances as are associated with mediaeval alchemy, but they are not therefore neglected and despised. Wherefore, then, should we be blind to the scientific nature of transmutation ?
One of the foundations of alchemical theories was that minerals grew and developed in the earth, like organic things. It was always the aim of nature to produce gold, the most precious metal, but when circumstances were not favourable the baser metals resulted. The desire of the old alchemists was to surprise nature's secrets, and thus attain the ability to do in a short period what nature takes years to accomplish. Nevertheless, the mediaeval alchem- ists appreciated the value of time in their experiments as modern alchemists never do. M. Figuier's friend urged him not to condemn these exponents of the hermetic philosophy for their metaphysical tendencies, for, he said, there are facts in our sciences which can only be explained in that light. If, for instance, copper be placed in air or water, there will be no result, but if a touch of some acid be added, it will oxidise. The explanation is that " the acid provokes oxidation of the metal, because it has an affinity for the oxide which tends to form " — a material fact almost metaphysical in its production, and only explicable thereby.
He concluded his argument with an appeal for tolerance towards the mediaeval alchemists, whose work is under- rated because it is not properly understood. (See also Elixir of Life, Homunculus, and the many lives of the alchemists throughout this book.)
LITERATURE. Atwood, A Suggestive Inquiry into the Hermetic Mystery, 1850 ; Hitchcock, Remarks on Alchemy and the Alchemists, Boston, 1857 ; Waite, Lives of the Alchemystical Philosophers, London, 1888 ; The Occult Sciences, London, 1891 ; Bacon, Mirror of Alchemy, l597 ; Tne works of the Hon. Robert Boyle ; S. le Doux,' Dictionnaire Hermetique, 1695 ; Langlet de Fresnoy, His- toire de la Philosophic Hermetique, 1792 ; Theatrum Chemi- cum, (Essays by many great alchemists), 1662 ; Valentine, Triumphal Chariot of Antimony, 1656 ; Redgrove, Alchemy Ancient and Modern ; Figuier, L'Alchimie et les Alchimistes, Paris, 1857.
Alchindi : {See Arabs.)
Alchindus : An Arabian doctor of the eleventh century, placed by some authorities among the number of magicians, but regarded by others as merely a superstitious writer. He used charmed words and combinations of figurt-s in order to cure his patients. Demonologists maintained that the devil was responsible for his power, and based their state- ments on the fact that he had written a work entitled The Theory of the Magic Arts. He was probably, however, nothing more formidable than a natural philosopher at a
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time when all matter of science and philosophy were held in suspicion. Some of his theories were of a magical nature, it is true, as when he essayed to explain the phenomena of dreams.by saying that they were the work of the elementals, who acted their strange fantasies before the mind of the sleeper as actors play in a theatre. But on the whole there is little to connect him with the practice of magic.
Aldinach : An Egyptian demon, whom the demonologists picture as presiding over the tempests, earthquakes, rain- storms, hail-storms, etc. It is he, also, who sinks ships. When he appears in visible form he takes the shape of a woman.
Alectorius : This stone is about the size of a bean, clear as crystal, sometimes with veins the colour of flesh. It is said to be taken from the cock's stomach. It renders its owner courageous and invincible, brings him wealth, assuages thirst, and makes the husband love his wife, or, as another author has it, " makes the woman agreeable to her hus- band." But its most wonderful property is, that it helps to regain a lost kingdom and acquire a foreign one.
Alectryomancy, or Alectormancy : An ancient method of divinotion with a cock. In practising it, a circle must be made in a good close place, and this must be divided equally into as many parts as there are letters in the alphabet. Then a wheat-corn must be placed on every letter, beginning with A, during which the depositor must repeat a certain verse. This must be done when the sun or moon is in Aries or Leo. A young cock, all white, should then be taken, his claws should be cut off, and these he should be forced to swallow with a little scroll of parchment made of lamb- skin upon which has been previously written certain words. Then the diviner holding the cock should repeat a form of incantation. Next, on placing the cock within the circle, he must repeat two verses of the Psalms, which are exactly the midmost of the seventy-two verses mentioned under the head of " Onimancy," and it is to be noted on the authority of an ancient Rabbi, that there is nothing in these seventy-two which is not of some use in the kaba- listical secret. The cock being within the circle, it must be observed from which letters he pecks the grains, and upon these others must be placed, because some names and words contain the same letters twice or thrice. These letters should be written down and put together, and they will infallibly reveal the name of the person concerning whom inquiry has been made ; it is said, though the story is doubted, that the magician lamblicus used this art to discover the person who should succeed Valens Caesar in the empire, but the bird picking up but four of the grains, those which lay on the letters T h e o, left it uncertain whether Theodosius, Theodotus, Theodorus, or Theodectes, was the person designed. Valens, however, learning what had been done, put to death several individuals whose names unhappily began with those letters, and the magician, to avoid the effects of his resentment, took a draught of poison. A kind of Alectromancy was also some- times practised upon the crowing of the cock, and the periods at which it was heard.
Ammianus Marcellinus describes the ritual which ac- companied this act rather differently. The sorcerers commenced by placing a basin made of different metals on the ground and drawing around it at equal distances the letters of the alphabet. Then he who possessed the deepest occult knowledge, advanced, en- veloped in a long veil, holding in his hand branches of vervain, and emitting dreadful cries, accompanied by hideous convulsions. He stopped all at once before the magic basin, and became rigid and motionless. He struck on a letter several times with the branch in his hand, and then upon another, until he had selected sufficient letters to form a heroic verse, which was then given out to
the assembly. The Emperor Valens, informed of this circumstance, was ill-pleased that the infernal powers should have been consulted regarding his destiny. Indeed, he went further, for with unexampled severity, he pro- scribed not only all the sorcerers, but all the philosophers in Rome, and punished them so severely that many per- ished.
In the fourth song of the Caqtiet Bonbec, of Jonquieres, a poet of the fourteenth century, the details of an operation in Alectryomancy are exactly and curiously set forth.
Aleuromancy : A species of divination practised with flour. Sentences were written on slips of paper, each of which was rolled up in a little ball of flour. These were thoroughly mixed up nine times, and divided amongst the curious, who were waiting to learn their fate. Apollo, who was supposed to preside over this form of divination, was surnamed Aleuromantis. So late as the nineteenth century the custom lingered in remoter districts.
Alexander ab Alexandre : (Alessandro Alessandri.) A Neapolitan lawyer, who died in 1523. He published a dissertation on the marvellous, entitled De Rebus Admira- bilibus, in which he recounts prodigies which happened in Italy, dreams which were verified, the circumstances connected with many apparitions and phantoms, which he says that he beheld himself. He followed this dissertation with his celebrated work Genialium Dierum, in which he recounts with much credulity many prodigious happenings. He tells how one evening he set out to join a party of several friends at a house in Rome which had been haunted for a long time by spectres and demons. In the middle of the night, when all of them were assembled in one chamber with many lights, there appeared to them a dreadful spectre, who called to them in a loud voice, and threw about the ornaments in the room. One of the most intrepid of the company advanced in front of the spectre bearing a light, on which it disappeared. Several times afterwards the same apparition re-entered through the door. Alexander, who had been lying on a couch, found that the demon had slid underneath it, and on rising from it, he beheld a great black arm appear on a table in front of him. By this time several of the company had retired to rest, and the lights were out, but torches were brought in answer to their cries of alarm, on which the spectre opened the door, slid past the advancing domestics, and disappeared. Alexander visited many other haunted houses, but he appears to have been easily duped, and by no means the sort of person to undertake psychical research. (See Avicenna.)
Alexander of Tralles : A physician born at Tralles in Asia Minor, in the sixth century, very learned, and with a leaning towards medico-magical practice. He prescribed for his patients amulets and charmed words, as, for instance, when he says in his Practice of Medicine that the figure of Hercules strangling the Nem'ean lion, graven on a stone and set in a ring, was an excellent cure for colic. He also claimed that charms and philacteries were efficacious remedies for gout, fevers, etc.
Alexander the Paphlagonian : The oracle of Abonotica, an obscure Paphlagonian town, who for nearly twenty years held absolute supremacy in the empirical art. Born about the end of the second century, a native of Abonotica, he possessed but little in the way of worldly wealth,- His sole capital consisted in his good looks, fine presence, exquisite voice, and a certain talent for fraud, which he was soon to turn to account in an extraordinary manner. His idea was to institute a new oracle, and he fixed upon Chalcedon as a suitable place to commence operations. Finding no great encouragement there he made a fresh start by setting afoot a rumour to the effect that Apollo and his son jEscuIa- pius intended shortly to take up residence at Abonotica. Naturally, the rumour at length reached the ears of his
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fellow-townsmen, who promptly set to work on a temple meet for the reception of the gods. The way was thus prepared for Alexander, who proceeded to Abonotica, diligently advertising his skill as a prophet, so that on his arrival people from many neighbouring towns applied to him, and ere long his fame had spread as far as Rome. We are told that the Emperor Aurelius himself consulted Alexander before undertaking an important military enterprise.
Lucian gives a suppositious explanation of the Paphla- gonian prophet's remarkable popularity. Alexander, he says, came in the course of his early travels to Pella, in Macedon, where he found a unique breed of serpents, large, beautiful, and so tame and harmless that they were allowed . by the inhabitants to enter their houses and play with children. A plan took shape in his brain which was to help him to attain the fame he craved. Selecting the largest and finest specimen of the Macedonian snakes that he could find, he carried it secretly to his destination. The temple which the credulous natives of Abonotica had raised to Apollo was surrounded by a moat, and Alex- ander, ever ready to seize an opportunity wherever it presented itself, emptied a goose-egg of its contents, placed within the shell a newly-hatched serpent, and sunk it in the moat. He then impressively informed the people that Apollo had arrived. Making for the moat with all speed, followed by a curious multitude, he scooped up the egg, and in full view of the people, broke the shell and exposed to their admiring eyes a little, wriggling serpent. When a few days had elapsed he judged the time ripe for a second demonstration. Gathering together a huge crowd from every part of Paphlagonia, he emerged from the temple with the large Macedonian snake coiled about his neck. By an ingenious arrangement the head of the- serpent was concealed under the prophet's arm, and an artificial head, somewhat resembling that of a human being, allowed to protrude. The assembly was much astonished to find that the tiny serpent of a few days ago had already attained such remarkable proportions and possessed the face of a human being, and they appeared to have little doubt that it was indeed Apollo come to Abonotica.
By means of ingenious mechanical contrivances the serpent was apparently made to reply to questions put to it. In other cases sealed rolls containing the questions were handed to the oracle and returned with the seals intact and an appropriate answer written inside.
His audacity and ready invention enabled Alexander to impose at will upon the credulous people of his time, and these, combined with a strong and attractive personality, won, and preserved for him his remarkable popularity, as they have done for other " prophets " before and since. Alfarabi : (d. 954.) An adept of remarkable gifts and an extensive knowledge of all the sciences ; born at Othrar (or, as it was then called, Faral), in Asia Minor. His name was Abou-Nasr-Mohammed-Ibn-Tarkaw, but he received, from the town of his birth, his better-known appellation of Farabi, or Alfarabi. Though he was of Turkish extrac- tion, a desire to perfect himself in Arabic, led him to Bagdad, where he assiduously studied the Greek philoso- phers under Abou Bachar Maltey. He next stayed for a time in Hanan, where he learned logic from a Christian physician. Having far surpassed his fellow-scholars, he left Hanan and drifted at last to Egypt. During his wanderings he came in contact with all the most learned philosophers of his time, and himself wrote books on philosophy, mathematics, astromony, and other sciences, besides acquiring proficiency in seventy languages. His treatise on music, proving the connection of sound with atmospheric vibrations, and mocking the Pythagorean theory of the music of the spheres, attained some celebrity.
He gained the good-will and patronage of the Sultan of Syria in a somewhat curious fashion. While passing through Syria he visited the court of the Sultan, who was at that moment surrounded by grave doctors and astrologers, who were discussing abstruse scientific points with the potentate. Alfarabi entered the presence of the Sultan in his stained and dusty travelling attire (he had been on a pilgrimage to Mecca), and when the prince bade him be seated, he, either unaware of, or indifferent to the etiquette of court life, sat down boldly on a corner of the royal sofa. The monarch, unused to such an informal proceeding, spoke in a little-known tongue to a courtier, and bade him remove the presumptuous philosopher. The latter, how- ever, astonished him by replying in the same language : " Sire, he who acts hastily, in haste repents." The Sultan, becoming interested in his unconventional guest, questioned him curiously, and learned of the seventy languages and other accomplishments of Alfarabi. The sages who were present were also astounded at his wide learning. When the prince called at length for some music, Alfarabi accompanied the musicians on a lute with such marvellous skill and grace that the entire company was charmed. When he struck up a lively measure, the gravest sages could not but dance to it. When he changed the melody to a softer lilt, tears sparkled in every eye, and at last, with a gentle lullaby, he put the court to sleep. The Sultan wished to keep such a valuable philosopher about his court, and some say that Alfarabi accepted his patronage and died peacefully in Syria. Others, again, maintain that he informed the Sultan that he would never rest till he had discovered the secret of the Philosophers' stone, which he believed himself on the point of finding. These say that he set out, but was attacked and killed by robbers in the woods of Syria.
Alfragenus : [See Astrology.)
Alfragius : (See Astrology.)
Alf ridarya : A science resembling astrology, which lays down that all the planets, in turn influence the life of man, each one governing a certain "number of years.
Alis de Telieux : In 1528, there was published in Paris a curious book, entitled, La merveilleuse histoire de I'esprit qui, depuis nagitere, s'est apparu au monastere des religieuses de Saint Pierre de Lyon, laquelle est pleine de grande ad- miration, comme on pourra vols par la lecture de ce present livre, par Adrien de Montalembert, aumonier du roi Fran- cois Ier. This work dealt with the appearance in the monastery of the spirit of Alis de Telieux, a nun who had lived there before the reformation of the monastery in 1513. A lis, it seems, had led rather a worldly life, following pleasure and enjoyment in a manner unbecoming to a nun, finally stealing the ornaments from the altar and selling them. After this last enormity, she, of course, left the monastery, and for a time continued her disgraceful career outside, but before she died she repented of her sins, and through the intercession of the Virgin, received pardon. This, however, did not gain for her Christian burial, and she was interred without the usual prayers and funeral rites. A number of years afterwards, when the monastery was occupied by other and better nuns, one of their number, a girl of about eighteen years, was aroused from her sleep by the apparition of Sister Alis. For some time afterwards the spirit haunted her wherever she went, continually rap- ping on the ground near where she stood, and even com- municating with the interested nuns. From all indications, it was a good and devout spirit who thus entered the monastery, but the good sisters, well versed in the wiles of the devil, had their doubts on the subject. The services of the Bishop of Lyons and of the narrator, Adrien de Montalembert, were called in to adjure the evil spirit. After many prayers and formalities, the spirit of A lis was
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All Hallow's Eve
found to be an innocent one, attended by a guardian angel. She answered a number of questions regarding her present state and her desire for Christian burial, and confirmed the doctrines of the Catholic Church, notably that of purgatory, which latter spirit-revelation the author advances triumph- antly for the confusion of the Lutherans. The remains of Sister A lis were conveyed to consecrated ground, and prayers made for the release of her soul from purgatory, but for some reason or other she continued to follow the young nun for a time, teaching her, on her last visit, five secret prayers composed by St. John the Evangelist. All Hallow's Eve : One of the former four great Fire festivals in Britain, is supposed to have taken place on the 1st of November, when all fires, save those of the Druids, were extinguished, from whose altars only the holy fire must be purchased by the householders for a certain price. The festival is still known in Ireland as Samhein, or La Samon, i.e., the Feast of the Sun ; while in Scotland, it has assumed the name of Hallowe'en. All Hallow's Eve, as observed in the Church of Rome, corresponds with the Feralia of the ancient Romans, when they sacrificed in honour of the dead, offered up prayers for them, and made oblations to them. In ancient times, this festival was celebrated on the twenty-first of February, but the Roman Church transferred it in her calendar to the first of November. It was originally designed to give rest and peace to the souls of the departed. In some parts of Scotland, it is still customary for young people to kindle fires on the tops of hills and rising grounds, and fire of this description goes by the name of a " Hallow- e'en bleeze." Formerly it was customary to surround these bonfires with a circular trench symbolical of the sun. Sheriff Barclay tells us that about seventy years ago, while travelling from Dunkeld to Aberfeldy on Hallowe'en, he counted thirty fires blazing on the hill tops, with the phantom figures of persons dancing round the flames.
In Perthshire, the " Hallowe'en bleeze " is made in the following picturesque fashion. Heath, broom, and dres- sings of flax are tied upon a pole. The faggot is then kindled ; a youth takes it upon his shoulders and carries it about. When the faggot is burned out a second is tied to the pole and kindled in the same manner as the former one. Several of these blazing faggots are often carried through the villages at the same time.
" Hallowe'en " is believed by the superstitious in Scot- land to be a night on which the invisible world has peculiar power. His Satanic- Majesty is supposed to have great latitude allowed him on this anniversary, in common with that malignant class of beings known as witches, some of whom, it is said, may be seen cleaving the air on broom- sticks, in a manner wondrous to behold. Others again, less aerially disposed, jog comfortably along over by-road and heath, seated on the back of such sleek tabby cats as have kindly allowed themselves to be transformed into coal-black steeds for their accommodation. The green- robed fays are also said to hold special festive meetings at their favourite haunts. The ignorant believe that there is no such night in all the year for obtaining an insight into futurity. The following are the customs pertaining to this eve of mystic ceremonies : The youths and maidens, who engage in the ceremony of Pulling the Green Kail, go hand- in-hand, with shut eyes, into a bachelor's or spinster's garden, and pull up the first " kail stalks " which come in their way. Should the stalks thus secured prove to be of .stately growth, straight in stem, and with a goodly supply of earth at their roots, the future husbands (or wives) will be young, goodlooking and rich in proportion. But if the stalks be stunted, crooked, and have little or no earth at their roots, the future spouses will be found lacking in good looks and fortune. According as the heart or stem proves .sweet or sour to the taste, so will be the temper of the
future partner. The stalks thus tasted are afterwards placed above the doors of the respective houses, and the christian names of those persons who first pass under- neath will correspond with those of the future husbands or wives.
There is also the custom of Eating the Apple at the Glass. Provide yourself with an apple, and, as the clock strikes twelve, go alone into a room where there is a looking glass. Cut the apple into small pieces, throw one of them over your left shoulder, and advancing to the mirror without looking back, proceed to eat the remainder, combing your hair carefully the while before the glass. While thus en- gaged, it is said that the face of the person you are to marry will be seen peeping over your left shoulder. This " Hal- lowe'en " game is supposed to be a relic of that form of divination with mirrors which was condemned as sorcery by the former Popes.
The Burning Nuts. Take two nuts and place them in the fire, bestowing on one of them your own name ; on the other that of the object of your affections. Should they burn quietly away, side by side, then the issue of your love affair will be prosperous ; but if one starts away from the other, the result will be unfavourable.
And for the Sowing Hemp Seed, steal forth alone towards midnight and sow a handful of hemp seed, repeating the following rhyme : " Hemp seed, I sow thee, hemp seed, I sow thee ;
And he that is my true love, come behind and harrow me." Then look over your left shoulder and you will see the person thus adjured in the act of harrowing.
The ceremony of Winnowing Corn must also be gone through in solitude. Go to the barn and open both doors, taking them off the hinges if possible.lest the being you expect to appear, may close them and do you some injury. Then take the instrument used in winnowing corn, and go through all the attitudes of letting it down against the wind. Re- peat the operation three times, and the figure of your future partner will appear passing in at one door and out at the other. Should those engaging in this ceremony be fated to die young, it is believed that a coffin, followed by mourners, will enter and pursue the too adventurous youth or maiden, who thus wishes to pry into the hidden things of the future, round the barn.
Another is Measuring the Bean Stack. Go three times round a bean stack with outstretched arms, as if measuring it, and the third time you will clasp in your arms the shade of your future partner.
Eating the Herring. Just before retiring to rest eat a raw or roasted salt herring, and in your dreams your hus- band (or wife) that is to be, will come and offer you a drink of water to quench your thirst.
Dipping the Shirt Sleeve. Go alone, or in company with others, to a stream where " three lairds' lands meet," and dip in the left sleeve of a shirt ; after this is done not one word must be spoken, otherwise the spell is broken. Then put your sleeve to dry before your bedroom fire. Go to bed, but be careful to remain awake, and you will see the form of your future helpmate enter and turn the sleeve in order that the other side may get dried.
The Three Plates. Place three plates in a row on a table. In one of these put clean water, in another foul, and leave the third empty. Blindfold the person wishing to try his or her fortune, and lead them up to the table. The left hand must be put forward. Should it come in contact with the clean water, then the future spouse will be young, handsome, and a bachelor or maid. The foul signifies a widower or a widow ; and the empty dish, single blessed- ness. This ceremony is repeated three times, and the plates must be differently arranged after each attempt.
Throwing the Clue. Steal forth alone and at night, to
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Alruy
the nearest lime-kiln, and throw in a clue of blue yarn, winding it off on to a fresh clue. As you come near the end, someone will grasp hold of the thread lying in the kiln. You then ask, " Who holds ? " when the name of your future partner will be uttered from beneath.
Allantara : (See Spain.)
Allat : Wife of Allah, and joint ruler with him oyer the Chaldean Hell. M. Maspero describes her as " the lady of the great country where all go after death, who have breathed here below," and as their terrible judge.
Allen Kardec : (See Spiritualism.)
Alii Allahis : A continuation of the old sect of the Persian Magi, (q.v.).
Allmuseri : An African secret society with secret rites akin to those of the Cabiric and Orphic Mysteries. Their reception takes place once a year in a wood, and the candi- date is supposed to die. The Initiates surround the Neophyte and chant funereal songs. He is then brought to the temple erected for the purpose, and anointed with palm oil. After forty days of probation, he is said to have obtained a new soul, is greeted with hymns of joy, and conducted home. (See Heckethorn, Secret Societies.)
Alludels : (See Arabs.)
Alraadel : [See Key of Solomon.)
Almagest : (See Astrology.)
Almanach du Diable : An almanac containing some very curious predictions for the years 1737 and 1738, which purported to be published in the infernal regions. It is a satire against the Jansenists, which was suppressed on account of some over-bold predictions, and which has become very rare. The authorship was ascribed to Quesnel, an ironmonger at Dijon. The Jansenists replied with, a pamphlet directed against the Jesuits, which was also suppressed. It was entitled Almanac de Dieu, dedicated to