Page 23 - Scottish Alchemists

“Then break up the hearth, where you vse to keep fyr continually, and
cause a four squarre pitt to be digd, three quarters of a yaird deep, and three
quarters square, and terrace it in the bottome and sides, and all about with
plaister of Paris half a brik thik, in the same maner as we vse to do places,
where we will keepe raine watter; and when it is all weill terrased about put
into it a pan of coles and drie it well. Then fill the pitt with these substances,
first hors dung, cow dung, quik lyme weill wrought togither with mans pisse,
as if you wold dawbe with it, then put it into the pitt, and sett the foirsaid
pott in the middle of it and stop it all about and on the top with a towell and
betwene the dung and the terrace put sand the thicknes of a hand, to the end
you hurt not your terrace, and put sand above the thicknes of a hand and
pave it up. Then mak a gentle fyr upon it, and keep the earth alwayes warme
day and night for sixtein weekes, bot the last weeke you must keepe a good
fyr upon it day and night.

“Item on the side of the chimney, must be maid a baker’s oven, and the
mouth thairof must be so wyde that the pott may go into it and it must have
a stopple fit for the mouth. And when the sixtein weekes are cum about,
three weekes befoir hand mak fyr into the oven, and the last day mak it
glowing heat all within, then break your hearth open, and tak out the pott
with all the speed you can, and put on a thik pair of gloves, and lett all those
that are neere it or about it stop themselfs weill, for feare of ill vapors that
may breath forth, and lett two or three persons help you and lett one vther
draw the fyr spedelie forth of the oven and do you als spedelie thrust your
pott into the oven, and als quickly stop the oven and lute it very closs, so
that no ayre may breath furth, and then tak old clothes and cover the oven
all aboute so warme as you can, and the pott must stand in this oven eight
dayes. Then tak off the clothes and open the oven, and run quicklie away
least any ayre suld yet come forth, and stop yourself weill against the smoke,
and also all those that ar with you. And when the oven hath stand one day
open then go to your oven, and put your gluffs on, and stop yourself weill,
and drink befoir hand a draught of wyne vinagre, and eat white zedoari and
hold sume of it in your mouth, and stop your nose with bombast moystand
in vinaiger. Then tak the pott out of the oven and carie cleirly behind into a
garden, where nobody cumes neare befoir the nixt day. Bot if you will sie be
experience, what the ayre of it can do, put your pot under a grein trie that is
weill stored with leaves, and the nixt day the trie wilbe as it were brent, and
will never grow againe for it is dead. Thairfoir I charge you to keep and stop
your selff safe, from the cruell and violent ayre that first shutts out of the
pott, for in it is the greatest venome in the world, and three of the most
dangerous creatures that may be found ly within this pott which will all three

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