But whatever were the cause of its curious texture, we may learn this
information from it; that even in those things which we account vile, rude,
and coorse, Nature has not been wanting to shew abundance of curiosity and
excellent Mechanisme.
We may here find a Stone by help of a _Microscope_, to be made up of
abundance of small Balls, which do but just touch each other, and yet there
being so many contacts, they make a firm hard mass, or a Stone much harder
then Free-stone.
Next, though we can by a _Microscope_ discern so curious a shape in the
particles, yet to the naked eye there scarce appears any such thing; which
may afford us a good argument to think, that even in those bodies also,
whose _texture_ we are not able to discern, though help'd with
_Microscopes_, there may be yet _latent_ so curious a _Schematisme_, that
it may abundantly satisfie the curious searcher, who shall be so happy as
to find some way to discover it.
Next, we here find a Stone, though to the naked eye a very close one, yet
every way perforated with innumerable pores, which are nothing else but the
_interstitia_, between those multitudes of minute globular particles, that
compose the bulk it self, and these pores are not only discover'd by the
_Microscope_, but by this contrivance.
I took a pretty large piece of this stone, and covering it all over with
cement, save only at two opposite parts, I found my self able, by blowing
in at one end that was left open, to blow my spittle, with which I had wet
the other end, into abundance of bubbles, which argued these pores to be
open and pervious through the whole stone, which affords us a very pretty
instance of the porousness of some seemingly close bodies, of which kind I
shall anon have occasion to subjoyn many more, tending to prove the same
thing.
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