stones, or a
combination of all three: it may have been anything of great value that
lies in small bulk, and is not liable to decay,--such a treasure as may
lie buried under the earth for a long period without any diminution of
its worth. In oriental countries and in ancient times treasures were hid
in the ground more frequently than in our land and our day; but it is
probable that even there and then the subterranean wealth was tenfold
greater in the popular belief than it was in reality.

Two distinct causes, or classes of causes, lead to the concealment of
treasure under ground: the feeble bury their wealth when they are
oppressed, and the guilty when they are scared. As a general rule, we
may assume that the treasure which is found buried in the earth has been
placed there either by honest men when the law was feeble, or by
dishonest men when the law was strong. The two classes of persons who
bury gold are the robbed and the robbers.

In both cases, the treasure which is intentionally and intelligently
buried is liable to be lost through the removal or death of those who
were in the secret. Such secreted and lost wealth is afterwards from
time to time found by those who build houses or cultivate the soil. In
all lands and ages some such hoards have been actually discovered, and
many such have been imagined and expected by the credulous. The
conditions of the treasure that may be buried under ground exist in
substances widely different from gold and silver and precious stones.
On the west coast of Scotland, a few years ago, some men, while engaged
in digging fuel from a moss, found at a great depth large quantities of
tallow carefully sewed up in raw ox-hides, and in good preservation. In
troubled, lawless times, a clan had ravaged their neighbour's territory:
not having had time to drive away the cattle, they had buried the only
portion of the spoil that could be preserved, intending to return when
the danger was past and carry it away. The opportunity of realizing the
booty had never occurred, and the clansmen had carried the secret with
themselves to the grave.

In modern times, treasures a thousand-fold more valuable than any that
have ever been hidden by human hands are frequently discovered under the
earth, and wealth correspondingly great obtained by purchasing the field
in which they lie. The much disputed and now celebrated mineral at
Torbanehill, near Bathgate, in the county of Linlithgow, affords a good