Section 91

Chap. VI.
How bj [owe Impoflures we may augment weight.
I Hive fet down fome Impoftares here , that fuch as handle with wicked men, may take heed that they be not deceived. As
To augment the weight of Oyl, water is mingled with the Oyl, that the fraud may not be known, let it be done With troubled water,' , as with the decodion of Wood, Rapes, Afphodills, that it may the harder be decerned from it. Or elfe they put the choife(t Gumtragant into water1 for two days : then they bray it in a Morcar, always putting water to it , to melt the- Gum : adde thefe to the Oyl dropping forth, and they will be turn'd to Oyl. By the like fraud almoft,
Si/Fumade to weigh morey They put it upon the vapour that rifeth from boiling water , and this makes it fwell with moLure, and grow heavier. Others bray one ounce of Gum Arabick, and bc-
H h h Sng
4.01 Natural Magigiu Soo^i©.
ing well ptffed through a fievc, they mingle ic with the decoaion of Honey ; they diflblve this mixture into water, and wet the Silk with it, and then let it dry. Others keep it in the green leaves of Walnut-tree.. If you will
lnereafe the quantity of Honey,
Adde to it the Meal of Chettnuts of Millet, and that augments ir, and it cannot be known. So you may
lnereafe the weight of VP ax :
Adde to the Wax Bean-meal, excellent well beaten ; and this will burn in Candles without any excrement; for itincreafeth the weight andbignefs, and the fraud is fcarce difcerned. So you may
Augment Sope.
If you mingle the Afbes of Oxens ftunk-benes , well burnt it Potters ovens, or white Brimllone. For you ftull augment the weight and quantity, without and di- ftin&ion of ir. If you would
Counterfeit Pepper,
You may gather green Juniper- berries, and let them dry till they fbrivel j then mis them with grains of Pepper. Others gather great black Vetches, and firft they boil them withwilde Pepper j forfwellingin the water, when they come to be dried, they become wrinkled. I did fophhticate them fo, that I deceived in fport the beft Apothecaries ; and afterwards, I did in mirth difcover the fraud. Take the Berries of the ripe red Sanguinaria ; thefc when they are dried, will be fo fhriveled, and like to Pepper, that any man almoft may be deceived by it, unlefs he tafts of ir. So w e may
lnereafe the weight of Wheat,
By fetting a vcffelof Wood within itj full of water or vinegar. For as Pliny faith, It will drink it in.
Chap. VII.
Of the Harp md many wonderful properties thereof.
*T* He Harp hath fome properties in ir, and things worthy to be obferved , which a, I fhall propound here. Firft, I fhall mention fome wonderful effects , that the Antiems fpeakof: then how they may be done , or how the Antients did then. Since Mufick is now more Adorned and Noble, than it was atnocgft the Antients ( for then it was more rude and imperfect) and yet in our days it doth not perform thole operations. It is certain that Mufical Tunes can do much with men, and there is no heart fo hard and cruel , but convenient and fwect harmony will make it yield, and on the otherfide, harfh Mufick will vex and harden a mans minde. tJMuftiu dif- i covers, thatVerfe and Songs are a mofl delightful thing to Mortal man : and the Piatonifts fay, That all things living are charmed by Mufick ; and there are many ef- fects obferved of it. Drums found in the wars to provoke thofe that are flow to fight ; and we read that the Antients did fuch like things. One Timotheut a MuficiaD, as oft he he pleafed would play a Phrygian Tune , and lb enrage the mind of Alexan- der, that he r; n prefently to the wars ; and when he would do othcrwife, he chan- ged his tune, and took off all his courage making him Ialie, and would then draw him being grown effeminate, to Banquets andFeafts: And Plutarch faith, That when he heard Antigenida playing Melodies with a Pipe, that they called Harmatii,he was foinflamed , that he rofe in his Arms , and laid hold of him that fat next to him. Cicero reports, That Pythagoras made a yong man more calm by a flower tune, who was a Tancomonite, and was whitled with wine, and mad for a whore, and fpurred forward by a Phrygian tune ; for being a corrival, he fought to fet the houfe on fire
where
The Qbaos. ^05
where ibe where wa the found of Flutes to commit any wickednefs, if the Piper play but a flower tunc they are called GtTagain ; for by the gravity of the Mufick their petulant fury is slav- ed. Bmptdorle: , when one fee upon his Hoft, thac provoked him with reproaches and ill language turned the burden of his Song, and fo;{Twaged the fury of bis anger. Tkeophrajim is reported to have ufed Mufical Tunes to reprels the psffions of the minde. And 9sfgantem»o» departing trom his Country to go to Troy , doubling of the chafiity of Clucmmftra, left a Harper , who with Mufick did lb incite her to con-. tinency and chaftity , that Egyflm could not enjoy her till he had killed the Harper. The Thracian Orphim by the playing oa his Harp, made batborcus Nations civil who were as hard as lionestobe foftned. Mufick charms trie tender eais of children, and Rattles will make them quiet, and hold their peace when they fry. Wherefore Chryfppw is reported to have writrcn a peculiar Song for Nuri'es. Alio wilde Beafts are tamed with Mufical Tancs. Anon the Harp:r made friend* of the Dolphins thai want reafon, and they carried him fafe to the fhore , when he was cart into the Sea. Strnbo faith, That Elephants are allured with drums. Stags arc held with founds, and catchedwith fweet Mufick. The Swans under the North- vvindc are conquered by the Harp and Mufical Tunes: Little birds arc enticed to the Net with Pipes; and the Shepherds Pipe commands the Sheep, when they wander too fartofield,to ftand Hill. In My fia, when Horfcs back Mares, a man fings to them as it were a marriage Song, and the Mares are fo taken with the Mufick, thar they become great with Fole, and they bring forth moft gallant Colt?. Vythoca.ru a Mufician, when he fang eameftly fwift Notes to his Pipe , is faid to have made Wolves become more rame ; and which is far more wonderful, Antiquity cured Wounds, Difeafcs, and Poyfons by Melody, as Hiftories related. Terpandtr and ^4r»»of Methymna, cured the men of Lesbos and Jonia of great Di:eafes. Afclepiade: a Phyfician cured deaf people by a Trumpet, and by finginghe (tided the ledicious people. In timepaft there was great ftore of Spiders in Aquilia, which they commonly call Tarantula?, when the Sun isexrreme hot they bite moft peftilcntly, and vencmoufly ; for this danger this healthful remedy is oncly found out , that he that is bit mull be charmed with ranch (ingingof Muficians, and many mufical Ir.ftrum.cnts. The fick though he want all fenfe, fofoon as he hears the Flute play, as if herofefrom a deadfleep, arifeth from the earth, and danceth after the Mufi.k ; and if the Mufician ceafe to play, hepre- fently faints, & grows ftupedtand as the Mufick flrikesup,fohe doth dance the more. So to fevtral Difeafcs the Antients appointed feveral Mufick; for the Dorick Melody caufed Prudence, Chaftity, and Learning; the Phrygians made men fight, and grow furious , which the flute will do alfo. Therefore Artfioxenm in his Plays , when he could not prevail with Dorick Mufick , he changed to Phrygian melody that a- greed with them.TheLydian Hirmony fharpens wi: to thofe that are dull,and brings in adefire of heavenly thing?, upon thofe that arc opprcfled with a love of earthly things, jirtjiotle in his ^Politicks, Do wc not reade that the Lacedemonians reject- ed that kinde of Mufick called Chromaticum , becaufe it made thofe that heard it tco effeminate ? Whence I think it is not againft reafon, that the fame may be done by the Lute or Harp alcne,but what is done by art or cunnir.g,is more to be wondrcd at, which none can deny. But if we would feekout the caufeof this , we (hall not afcribe it to the Mufick," but to the Iuftrument , and the wood they are made of, and to the skins; fince the properties of ^ead beafts are preferved in their parts , and of Trees cut up in their wood , as I faid elfewhere in this Book. And to take the moft noted examples, if we will
Fright Sheepf
There is Antipathy between Sheep and Wolves, as I faid often, and it remains in all their parts; fo that an Inftrument firunq with Sheep firings, mingled with firings made of a Wolfs guts, will make no Mufick, but jar, and make all difcords* Tjth*' gar as. If you will
Drive av9Aj Horfes,
Horfcs are frighted in battle by Elephants, and a Camel Naturally hates a Horfe , as
Hhh % Arijlotk
4.04* Natural Magick. HoqI^ io.
AriJiotle&dPlinjhy, and fome report that Horfes yvillburltif they tread upon the Wolfs footing, when the Horfcmeo rides them. So that if drums be made of an Ele- phant, Camel, or Wolves skin, and one beat them , the Horfes will run away and dare not fiand. By the fame reafon,if you will
Drive aw*y Bearst
A Horfe,that is a Creature made obedient to man , hath a Capital hatred with a Bear, that is a Beat* hurtful to man ; he will know his enemy that he never faw before, and prefently provide himtelf to fight with him, and he ufeth art rather than ftrength for it ; and I have heard that Bears have been driven away }n the Wildernefs by the found of a Drum, when it was made of a Horfe skin. Again, if we would
Make Horfes gentle^
v£lian writes that by the playing on a Flute , the Lybian Horfes arc fo allured, that by this means they will become gentle for mans ufe, and will not be fo furious jihey will follow the Groom that feeds them , whitherfoever hepleafe to lead them with his Mufick ; when he phys and Hands, they Hand Mill, and if be play eagerly on the Flute, they are fo ravifhed with it, that they cannot hold crying, and let tears fall* Thofc that keep Horfes make a hollow pipe of the Tree called Rofe- Laurel, and they go amongftthe herd with this, and playing on it they charm ihcmall. Theo~ fhrtfttu hath told us that the Herb Oenothera will tame wilde Brails, and makcthtm drunk ; and as I faid t\{cnhtTc9Theophr*fitu his Oenothera is our Rofe-Laurcl, agakift Diofeorides. It is reported, that
Women ytiR mifcarry^
if Fiddle- firings be made of Serpents , efpecially of Vipers , for being put o» a Harp and play*d on, if women withchilde be prefent, they fnffer abortion, and Vipers are wont to do as much by meeting them, as many write. Hermemae9 a Theban, endea- voured
To cure many of the Sciatic* in Beotia, by Mufick ; and it may be his Inftrument was made of Poplar , toiDiofco' rides faith, That the juyceof the Poplar-trec-bark will care them, or of Willow. Alfo Hellebore is good
For mad men
And Xenocrates cured mad men with Mufical tunes , which Inflruments might be ea- fil y made of Horfes Shank-bones, or the hollow flalks of Hellebore. Thales Mileri- td ufed a Harp
Agtinft the Plagney
which could be ©f no other Wood than the Vine-tree $ fince Wine and Vinegtr are wonderful good*g*inft thcPcftilence, or elfeof the Bay-tree, whofe leaves bruifed and fmelled to , will prefently drive away Pcftilent contagion. Theophrafim writes that fome arc excellent
Again/} the tit i figs of Vipers y
with Harps, Flutes, or other Inftruments, which Internments might be made of Juni- per, Afh, Bays, the Stags-bones, Ferula, Elder, Vine, and fuch like many more. Pj-
thagorai
Againfi DrurMennefs
ofed Mufick alfo : for he withheld a yong man that was drunk from burning the houfc of his corrival , may be with an Inftrument of Ivy, or Almond-ircc-wood , efpeci- ally that as it is of the wi'de Tree, for thefe afford great remedy for drunkennefs ,7V- tnotbcm did fo enflame the minde of Alexander the Great , that he was mad to fight, and when he would he changed his minde, and drew out all his courage ; and he en- deavoured
7V
The Chaos*
To draw hit Jluggijh And yieldtng thoughts from Battle to Ban if nets, and fo carried him which way hepleafed, Which could not be done, but by Vine- wood, oc Wood-Laurel. The Inftrument of the Harper, who when Agamemnon went from Greece to Troy, did keep Q'ltmnefira chafte by, his Mufick was made of WiU low, called Agnm Caftut j for the women in the Fcafts of Cereh amongft the Atheni- ans, put Willow-Pirk-leaves under them, to keep them chafte when they lay in bed, for fo they extinguifhed the defire of venery. The Pythagoreans u'ed iome Tnnes
Forjleep and waking }
for when they would by flcep overcome divers cares * they play'd cercain Tune?, thaceafie and quiet flcep might come upon them; and when they arofe, fo toon as they went out of their Chambers, with fome Mufick they would diipel all confufion and dulnefs of flcep , that they might fet to their work. It is faid that the jEoliao Mufick doth ftill thctcmpeftsof theminde , and rocks men a fL-ep : they provoked men tofleep with Almond-tree, or Vinc-tree-wood, and they drove flecpoff with Hellebore. Take this experiment that is common,
A Harp that U plafd on, will move another Harpfttung to the fame height. Let the firings be ftretched alike, that both may come to the fame melody perfectly J if you ftull ftrike one of the bale firings, the other will anlwer it, and fo it is in the trebles, yet theymuftbeat a moderate diftance ; and if this be riot very clear, lay ftraw upon it, and you (hall fee it move. But Suetonius TratHjuMa*, in his Book, Be Ludicra Htjloria faith, That in Winter fome firings are firuck, and others found. Thus any ignorant man may tune a Htrp , if one Harp be rightly tuned for Mufick, and lye ftill, he by ftretching the firings of the other , and by flackning them, and flrikin° as the firing of the Harp that lyes ftill guides him ; fo of the reft, But if you will °
That a deaf per fon may hear the found of the Harp, or elfe ftop your ears with your hands, that you may not hear the found. Then take faftholdof the Inflrument by the handle with your teeth , and let another ftrike on it, and it will make a Mufical noife in the brain , and may be a fweeter noife. And not oncly taking hold of the handle with your teeth, but the long neck, neerthe Harp, and by that you fhall hear the found perfectly , that you may fay that you did not hear the Mufick, but tafle it* Now remains what I think is very plcafanc
To mal^e a Harp or othtr Infirument be plafd on by the winde, Do thus : When the windes are very tempeftuous fet your Infirument* juft againft it, as Harps, Flutes, Dulcimers, Pipes the wind will run violently into them, and play low upon (hem, and will run into the holes of the reeds ; whence if you ftand necr and liftcn, you will hear mofi pleafant Mufick by confent of them all, and will rejoyce.
Chap. VIII.
To difcover frauds whereby Impoftors working by liatutal means9 pretend that they
do them by conjuration.
NOw will I open Cheats and Impoftors , whereby Jugglers and Impoflors, who fain thcmfelves to beCujufers , and thereby delude fools, knaves, and fimple women. I, to caft down their fraud, by admonifhing fimple people not to be deeci- • ved by them, fhall open the caufes thereof. And firft,
By what means they fainy that the) can difcover Treafures, The greater part of Cozners , when they are thcmfelves very poor and moft mifera- ble of all men, they profefs themfclves able to finde our Treafures , and they promife to other men what they want themfclves ; and they ufe four Rods that are double forkedjthe tops whereof flicking dofc together croflways, they hold the lower parts
^06 Natural Maqick. 'Boofoo.
of them with their hands open, neer their belly, they fecm to mumble fome Verfcs, and the Rods fall down , and where they fall , they bid thofe men to dig that would find Treafnres, The caufe is, for that the Rods feem to ftand faft in their hands, and yet have no hold at all, and they feem always ready to fall j and if they remove ne- ver fo little from their place, they prefently fall down. Alfo, there are in mens arms and hands pulfaiions of Arteries, which although they feem immovable, yec they do move the hands unfeen , and make them to tremble: Yet tome Metal- Ma- tters who report that thefc forked Rods are a great help to them in finding out of Mines : For with a Knife they cm the Hazel-tree, which they fay is the fittcft of all to findeout Veins, efpecially if the Hazel come upon any Mineral Vein. Others ufe divers Trees, as the Metals arc divers ; for they ufe wands of Hazel for Veins of Sil- ver, Afh for Brafs, Wilde Pilch-tree for Lead, chiefly white-Lead, or Brafs, or Gold : then they take the Rod by both ends, and clinch their fift? , but they mutt hold their fingers clinched upwards toward heaven; and that the Rod may be lifted up there where the ends meet, thus they wander here and there through Mountainous places, and when they fee their foot upon a Vein, the Rod will prefently turn about, and dis- cover a Vein in any place ; when they come off from it, the Rod will be quiet , and they fay the Veins have fo great force , that they will bend the Boughs of Trees thac grew neer,towards them, as AgricoU writes more largely.