From What I Could Learn From His Broken Hints And
Innuendoes, It Appeared That, Since His Arrival At Madrid, He
Had
fallen into the hands of certain people who had treated him with
kindness, and provided him with both money
And clothes; not from
disinterested motives, however, but having an eye to the treasure.
"They expect great things from me," said the Swiss; "and perhaps,
after all, it would have been more profitable to have dug up the
treasure without their assistance, always provided that were
possible." Who his new friends were, he either knew not or would
not tell me, save that they were people in power. He said
something about Queen Christina and an oath which he had taken in
the presence of a bishop on the crucifix and "the four Evangiles."
I thought that his head was turned, and forbore questioning. Just
before taking his departure, he observed "Lieber herr, pardon me
for not being quite frank towards you, to whom I owe so much, but I
dare not; I am not now my own man. It is, moreover, an evil thing
at all times to say a word about treasure before you have secured
it. There was once a man in my own country, who dug deep into the
earth until he arrived at a copper vessel which contained a schatz.
Seizing it by the handle, he merely exclaimed in his transport, 'I
have it'; that was enough, however: down sank the kettle, though
the handle remained in his grasp.
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