This liquor of flints is of that nature toward the metals, that it maketh them exceeding fair, but not so, as women do scowre their vessels of tin, copper, iron, _&c._ with ly and small sand, till all filth be scoured off, and that they get a bright and fair gloss: but the metals must be dissolved therein by Chymical art, and then either after the wet or dry way digested in it for its due space of time; which _Paracelsus_ calleth to go into the mothers womb, and be born again: if this be done rightly, then the mother will bring forth a pure child. All metals are engendred in sand or stone, and therefore they may well be called the mother of metals, and the purer the mother is, the purer and sounder child she will bear, and among all stones there is none found purer than the peble, crystal or sand, which are of one nature (if they be simple and not impregnated with metals:) And therefore the peble or sand is found to be the fittest bath to wash the metal withall. But he that would take this bath to be the Philosophers secret Menstruum, whereby they exalt the King unto the highest purity, would be mistaken; for their Balneum is more friendly to gold by reason of its affinity with it than with other metals, but this doth easier dissolve other metals than gold. Whereby it is evident, that it cannot be _Benard_ his fountain (_Bernhardi fontina_) but must be held only to be a particular cleanser of metals. But omitting this, and leaving it to the further practise and tryal of those that want no time nor conveniency for to search what may be done with it, let us take notice of the use of this liquor in physick, for which uses sake this book is written. That which hath been said, was only done to that end, that we may observe, that we must not always look upon dear and costly things, but that many times even in mean and contemptible things (as sand & pebles) much good is to be found. _How to extract a blood-red Tincture with spirit of wine out of the liquor of peble-stones._