whereof there is at present
no appearance; but we must endeavour to find her one now, for she grows
old and ugly. My father and I with a dark lantern, it being now light,
into the garden with my wife, and there went about our great work to dig
up my gold. But, Lord, what a tosse I was for some time in, that they
could not justly tell where it was: but by-and-bye, poking with a spit,
we found it, and then began with a spudd. But, good God! to see how
sillily they did it, not half a foot under ground, and in the sight of
the world from a hundred places, and within sight of a neighbour's
window. Only my father says that he saw them all gone to church before
he began the work when he laid the money. But I was out of my wits
almost, and the more from that, upon my lifting the earth with my spudd,
I did discern that I had scattered the pieces of gold in the loose
earth, and, taking up the iron head-pieces whereon they were put, I
perceived the earth had gotten among the gold, and wet, so that the bags
were all rotten and notes; so that I could not tell what in the world to
say to it, not knowing how to judge what was wanting, or what had been
lost by Gibson in his journey down, which, all put together, did make me
mad. And at last I was obliged to take up the pieces, dirt and all, by
candle-light, and carry them into my brother's chamber, and there lock
them up, whilst I eat a little supper; and then, all people going to
bed, William Hewer and I did, all alone, with pails of water and besoms,
wash the dirt off the pieces, and then began to tell them, by a note
which I had of the value of the whole in my pocket, and do find that
there was short above a hundred pieces, which did make me mad.... So
William Hewer and I out again about midnight, and there by candle-light
did make shift to gather forty pieces more; and so to bed, and there lay
in some disquiet until daylight. 11th.--And then William Hewer and I,
with pails and a sieve, did lock ourselves into the garden, and did
gather the earth and then sift those pails in one of the summer-houses
(just as they do for diamonds in other parts), and there, to our great
content did, by nine o'clock, make the last night's forty-five up to
seventy-nine; so that we are come to some twenty or thirty of what I
think the true number should be. So do leave my father to make a second
examination of the dirt, and my mind at rest on it, being but an
accident; and so give me some kind of content