or diamonds. Dey shall forget Gott. He is on high: dere eyes are
always on de earth. De diggers found a diamond in mine plaster of mine
wall of mine house. Dat plaster vas limestone; it come from dose kopjes
de good Gott made in His anger against man for his vickedness. I zay so.
Dey not believe me. Dey tink dem abominable stones grow in mine house,
and break out in mine plaster like de measle: dey vaunt to dig in mine
wall, in mine garden, in mine floor. One day dey shall dig in mine body.
I vill go. Better I love peace dan money. Here is English company make
me offer for mine varm. Dey forgive de diamonds."

"You have not accepted it?" cried Staines in alarm.

"No, but I vill. I have said I shall tink of it. Dat is my vay. So I say
yah."

"An English company? They will cheat you without mercy. No, they shall
not, though, for I will have a hand in the bargain."

He set to work directly, added up the value of the claims, at ten
shillings per month, and amazed the poor Hollander by his statement of
the value of those fifteen acres, capitalized.

And to close this part of the subject, the obnoxious diamonds obtained
him three times as much as his father had given for the whole six
thousand acres.

The company got a great bargain, but Bulteel received what for him was a
large capital, and settling far to the south, this lineal descendant of
le philosophe sans savoir carried his godliness, his cleanliness, and
his love of peace, out of the turmoil, and was happier than ever, since
now he could compare his placid existence with one year of noise and
clamor.

But long before this, events more pertinent to my story had occurred.

One day, a Hottentot came into Bulteel's farm and went out among the
diggers, till he found Staines. The Hottentot was one employed at Dale's
Kloof, and knew him. He brought Staines a letter.

Staines opened the letter, and another letter fell out; it was directed
to "Reginald Falcon, Esq."

"Why," thought Staines, "what a time this letter must have been on the
road! So much for private messengers."

The letter ran thus:--

DEAR SIR,--This leaves us all well at Dale's Kloof, as I hope it shall
find you and my dear husband at the diggings. Sir, I am happy to say I
have good news for you. When you got well by God's mercy, I wrote to
the doctor at the hospital and told him so. I wrote unbeknown to you,
because I had promised him. Well, sir, he has written back to say you
have two hundred