Oeuvres complètes. Tome II. Correspondance 1657-1659

N^o 381.
Lady Newcastle à [Christiaan Huygens].¹⁾
30 mars 1657.

La lettre se trouve à Londres, British Museum.

I have received your second letter²⁾ by Mr. Dewerts³⁾ wherin I find: your dissatisfaction of ye opinion of those little glasses. truly Arts are as obscure and hard to finde out by those yt 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, & my opinions as weake as my Judgement, & my Judgement as weake as want of Knowlledge can make itt.

As for your Liquor you say in your Letter that if itt were a Sulphurous

1) Il est douteux, si cette lettre a été adressée à Chr. Huygens ou bien à son père. Dans les minutes des lettres de ce dernier nous n'avons pu trouver aucune indication de quelque correspondance qu'il aurait eue à cette époque avec Lady Newcastle.

2) Lettre, que nous ne possédons pas.

3) Probablement Jacques ou Gaspard Duarte, dont le père Gaspard était né en 1582. Juifs portugais, nobles d'origine, les Duarte habitaient à Anvers un hôtel somptueux sur la place de Meir; ils étaient des gens riches, possédant beaucoup d'objets d'art et faisant le commerce de pierres précieuses, probablement aussi des affaires de banque; ils voyagèrent beaucoup et étaient très-liés avec Constantyn Huygens, père, qui logeait souvent chez eux; tous les membres de la famille étaient bons musiciens, surtout la fille Francisca, qui vécut à Alkmaar et qui eut le surnom de Rossignol Anversois.

[p. 21]

Liquor, or a Liquid gunpowder (as I said) I thought it might bee, doubtlesse it would be actiue by ye help of fire; I answer for that, fire hath seuerall Actiue Effects both in itt selfe and uppon other Substances; or subjects wherfore if ye Liquor had ben dry powder it might be subiect to yt effect of fire, as to flash, flame, or bounce, but if ye powder were wett the fire could worke noe such effects, but as ye substance is A Liquor fire is as subiect to yt Substance, or matter as that substance or matter is to fire, for all Liquors allthough strong with Spirritts and hott in operation will quench fire as sudenly as fire shall euapporate Liquor take quantity for quantity and it is probable yt the high fire you did Applye to ye glasse, did eueporat out ye Licquor in the glasse which might be ye weakening & changing or altering the former effects. Alsoe you say you cannot perceiue ye buble to be a Licquor. I answer that it is probable the Licquor, if any be therin was euaporated out either by ye fire, you applyed or by ye vent of passage, which may soone turne itt into vapor by reason of ye litle quantitye yt is in a glasse. thus it might be wasted before ye truth could possible be found out: for certainly to my sense, as alsoe to my reason A Licquor 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 hauing vent was ye cause of the sound, or report which those glasses gaue.

Thus Sir you may perceiue by my Argueings, I striue to make my former opinion, or sense good. Allthough I doe not binde my selfe to opinions, but truth; and ye truth is that though I cannot finde out ye truth of ye glasses; yet In-truth I am

Sir

Your humble Sarvant

Antwerp 30^th March 1657.

Al. Newcastle.

Sir I would haue writt my leters to you in my own hand but be reson my hand written is not legabell I thingk you might rather haue gest up at what j would say then had read what I had writt. thise is the reson they wer writt by an other hand.

A Monsieur Monsieur Huygens de Zulichem A la Haghue.