BASE METAL • FREE-TRANSLATOR.COM • Definition of Base metal

... of work, it may be asked, can this volatile fellow perform? We cannot tell all—the list is too long. Let us consider a few of them. If we fabricate tea-pots, sugar-basins, spoons, or anything else of base metal, he can and will, at our bidding, cover the same with silver or yellow gold. If we grow dissatisfied with our candles and gas, he will, on being summoned, and properly directed by the master minds to whom he owns allegiance, kindle our lamps and fill our ...

— The Battery and the Boiler - Adventures in Laying of Submarine Electric Cables • R.M. Ballantyne