Briefwisseling. Deel 5: 1649-1663

5538. Margaret van Newcastle¹⁾. (B.M.)

I have received your second letter by Mr. Dewerts²⁾, wherin I find your dissatisfaction of the opinion of those little glasses. Truly arts are as obscure and hard to finde out by those that are unlerned in them, as natures workes; but to cleer my opinion, or rather to answer yours desires, I shall argue something more of them, though my arguments may be as weake as my opinions, and my opinions as weake as my judgement, and my judgement as weake as want of knowlledge can make it. - As for your liquor, you say in your letter, that if it were a sulphurous liquor, or a liquid gunpowder - as I said - I thought it might bee, doubtlesse it would be active by the help of fire; I answer for that, fire hath severall active effects both in ittselfe and uppon other substances, or subjects, wherfore, if the liquor had be[e]n dry powder, it might be subject to that effect of fire, as to flash, flame, or bounce, but if the powder were wett, the fire could worke noe such effects; but as the substance is a liquor, fire is as subject to that substance or matter, as that substance or matter is to fire, for all liquors, although strong with spirritts and hott in operation, will quench fire as sudenly, as fire shall evapporate liquor; take quantity for quantity, and it is probable, that the high fire, you did applye to the glasse, did eveporat out the liquor in the glasse, which might be the weakening and changing or altering the former effects. Alsoe you say, you cannot perceive the buble to be a licquor. I answer, that it is probable, the licquor, if any be therin, was evaporated out either by the fire, you applyed, or by the vent of passage, which may soone turn itt into vapor, by reason of the little quantity that is in a glasse; thus it might be wasted before the truth could possible be found out; for certainly to my sense, as alsoe to my reason, a liquor apeared to be in those glasses, you sent me; but if there be noe licquor in those glasses, then it is probable, it might be pent up ayre enclosed therin, which having vent was the cause of the sound or report, which those glasses gave. - Thus, Sir, you may perceive by my argueings, I strive to make my former opinion or sense good, allthough I doe not binde myselfe to opinions, but truth; and the truth is, that, though I cannot finde out the truth of the glasses, yet in truth I am ..... Antwerp, 30 March 1657.

Sir, I would have writt my leters to you in my own hand, but be reson my handwritten is not legabell, I think you might rather have gest³⁾ up at what I would say, then had read what I had writt; thise is the reson, they wer writt by another hand.

1) Uitgegeven in Oeuvres complètes de Christiaan Huygens, II, blz. 20. De brief is niet gericht aan Christiaan, maar aan zijn vader. De afschrijver in het Britsch Museum heeft niet bemerkt, dat de persoon, die Margaretha's brieven schreef, meestal ye schrijft voor the, en yt voor that. - Zie No. 5537.

2) Nl. Duarte.

3) Lees: guessed