The Golden Fleece, or Golden Treasury and Cabinet of Art

wanted to share it with him gladly. This pleased the assayer well, and he asked me if I could also labor a little. I said yes, passably. Then he said, as I wanted, "There is here a nobleman from the Italian 'Gentiluomo' who has much work done, and for a long time has gladly had a German laborer." It pleased me, and he led me straight to the gentleman's chief laborer, who was a German named Hans Tauler, and he was glad, took me on at once, and gave me two crowns every week, and food besides. Then he led me about six Italian miles from Venice to a large house of the same gentleman, which he called Pontilon. I have never seen such laboring in my life, on all kinds of particular tinctures alchemical essences and on medicine, as in this place. There was everything in stock that one could think of in many ways, and every laborer (there were nine) had his own chamber and they all had their own cook. There the chief laborer gave me a piece to work on under my hand that had been sent to the nobleman four days before; that was