Rub a globule of mercury upon a silver spoon, and the two metals will
combine with a white appearance; heat the spoon carefully in the flame
of a spirit-lamp, when the mercury will volatilize and disappear, and
the spoon may then be polished until it recovers its usual lustre:
if, however, the mercury be left for some time on the spoon, the solid
texture of the silver will be destroyed throughout, and then the silver
can only be recovered by heating it in a ladle.