[Sidenote: _See the following Scheme, p. 356._]
_Qu._ 25. Are there not other original Properties of the Rays of Light, besides those already described? An instance of another original Property we have in the Refraction of Island Crystal, described first by _Erasmus Bartholine_, and afterwards more exactly by _Hugenius_, in his Book _De la Lumiere_. This Crystal is a pellucid fissile Stone, clear as Water or Crystal of the Rock, and without Colour; enduring a red Heat without losing its transparency, and in a very strong Heat calcining without Fusion. Steep'd a Day or two in Water, it loses its natural Polish. Being rubb'd on Cloth, it attracts pieces of Straws and other light things, like Ambar or Glass; and with _Aqua fortis_ it makes an Ebullition. It seems to be a sort of Talk, and is found in form of an oblique Parallelopiped, with six parallelogram Sides and eight solid Angles. The obtuse Angles of the Parallelograms are each of them 101 Degrees and 52 Minutes; the acute ones 78 Degrees and 8 Minutes. Two of the solid Angles opposite to one another, as C and E, are compassed each of them with three of these obtuse Angles, and each of the other six with one obtuse and two acute ones. It cleaves easily in planes parallel to any of its Sides, and not in any other Planes. It cleaves with a glossy polite Surface not perfectly plane, but with some little unevenness. It is easily scratch'd, and by reason of its softness it takes a Polish very difficultly. It polishes better upon polish'd Looking-glass than upon Metal, and perhaps better upon Pitch, Leather or Parchment. Afterwards it must be rubb'd with a little Oil or white of an Egg, to fill up its Scratches; whereby it will become very transparent and polite. But for several Experiments, it is not necessary to polish it. If a piece of this crystalline Stone be laid upon a Book, every Letter of the Book seen through it will appear double, by means of a double Refraction. And if any beam of Light falls either perpendicularly, or in any oblique Angle upon any Surface of this Crystal, it becomes divided into two beams by means of the same double Refraction. Which beams are of the same Colour with the incident beam of Light, and seem equal to one another in the quantity of their Light, or very nearly equal. One of these Refractions is perform'd by the usual Rule of Opticks, the Sine of Incidence out of Air into this Crystal being to the Sine of Refraction, as five to three. The other Refraction, which may be called the unusual Refraction, is perform'd by the following Rule.