Early methods of introducing a nostrum—The origin of quack medicines—The Elixir of Life—The Collyrium of Danares—Sympathetic Powder—Hoffman’s Water of Magnanimity—Dutch Drops—_Eau Médicinale de Husson_—Dr. James’ fever powder—Count St. Germain’s tea—Cagliostro’s Balm of Life—How the Count was confounded—Count Thün of Leipzig—Dr. Brodum and his “Nervous Cordial”—Dr. Solomon and his “Balm of Gilead”—How “the doctor” was punished—Perkin’s Tractors—An old ballad _pages_ 221-228 CHAPTER XXI. THE ANTIQUITY AND HISTORY OF THE MORTAR. The origin of the mortar—Derivation of the name—Primitive mortars—Grain crushers—Egyptian mortars—Antiquity of the mortar in Africa—A Cingalese mortar—Roman mortaria—Manufactories of mortaria in Britain—Stone mortars—Wooden querns—Origin of the pestle and mortar as a trade sign—Iron mortars—Bell-metal mortars—Brass mortars—Copper mortars—Marble mortars—Modern mortars _pages_ 229-237 PART II. ALCHEMY AND PHARMACY IN LITERATURE. CHAPTER I. PAGES Chaucer 239-252 CHAPTER II. Shakespeare 253-277 CHAPTER III. Spenser 278-282 CHAPTER IV. Goethe 283-291 CHAPTER V. Le Sage 292-299 CHAPTER VI. Ben. Jonson 300-302 CHAPTER VII. Sir Walter Scott 303-305 CHAPTER VIII. Dumas 306-311 CHAPTER IX. Reade 312-321 CHAPTER X. Dickens, Thackeray 322-328 CHAPTER XI. Marryat 329-335 ALCHEMY AND PHARMACY: THEIR MYSTERY AND ROMANCE. PART I. CHAPTER I. THE DAWN OF THE ART OF HEALING. The birth of the art of healing goes back to a period of great antiquity. The instinct that first led man to utilise the fruits of the earth for his bodily sustenance, may perchance have suggested the herbs which grew around him as a means of alleviating the ills of his flesh. It is a matter of doubt whether medicine as an art was first practised in Egypt or China; from recent research probably the former, as at the time of the writing of the _Ebers Papyrus_, B.C. 1550, the Egyptians had a considerable knowledge of the use of herbs and other bodies for medicinal purposes. The art of medicine had two foundations—empiricism and superstition—which have influenced it from its birth down to the present time. The most ancient record of medicine and pharmacy known was discovered at Kahun in 1889, near the pyramid of Illahun in the ruins of an ancient town, which had apparently been inhabited by the builders of the pyramid. It dates from the twelfth dynasty, B.C. 2700 to 2500, more than a thousand years before the Exodus.