Nothing new at all. The Academie, however, has
recognized the existence of salicine, but salicine, asparagine,
vauqueline, and digitaline are not really discoveries----"
"Since you cannot invent substances," said Raphael, "you are obliged
to fall back on inventing names."
"Most emphatically true, young man."
"Here," said Planchette, addressing the chemist, "try to analyze this
composition; if you can extract any element whatever from it, I
christen it diaboline beforehand, for we have just smashed a hydraulic
press in trying to compress it."
"Let's see! let's have a look at it!" cried the delighted chemist; "it
may, perhaps, be a fresh element."
"It is simply a piece of the skin of an ass, sir," said Raphael.
"Sir!" said the illustrious chemist sternly.
"I am not joking," the Marquis answered, laying the piece of skin
before him.
Baron Japhet applied the nervous fibres of his tongue to the skin; he
had skill in thus detecting salts, acids, alkalis, and gases. After
several experiments, he remarked:
"No taste whatever! Come, we will give it a little fluoric acid to
drink."
Subjected to the influence of this ready solvent of animal tissue, the
skin underwent no change whatsoever.
Pages:
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347