"Kaolin?" gasped Theo.
"Kaolin!"
The room was very still; then Theo stammered hurriedly:
"And what happened next?"
"Well, you can imagine the joy the discovery brought; but it was a carefully stifled joy, for with all his delight Böttger was far too discreet to allow his wonderful discovery to travel outside the confines of his laboratory. When the Elector Augustus was told the news at his Dresden palace near by he was wild with delight, and immediately began building a great porcelain factory at Meissen. By 1715 there was enough of the new ware ready to be put on sale at Leipsic; and thus our beautiful porcelain, dubbed Dresden ware in honor of the Saxon capitol, came into being. The first that was made was plain white with a decoration of vines and leaves in low relief. Later some of the dishes were made with a perforated border in imitation of the Chinese and Japanese 'grains-of-rice' pattern. Afterward the potters attempted the use of blue in a vain attempt to reproduce Nankin Blue ware."
"I guess the other countries were pretty sore when they found Saxony had learned how to make porcelain," put in Theo.
"They were greatly agitated, my son," laughed Mr. Croyden. "They begged, bribed, and schemed to find out what the new clay was; but all to no purpose. The works at Meissen were guarded day and night, and every person employed in the factory was compelled to swear to keep the great secret. Men were cautioned they would be shot should they divulge the process. Be secret to Death was the motto of the manufactory, and that meant not only that they never should tell anybody all their life-long; but if threatened with harm they should prefer death to betraying their trust. They must even endure torture itself rather than open their mouths. Some histories go so far as to say that in order to secure absolute secrecy only the deaf and dumb were allowed to transport the clay."
"I don't see but they were just as selfish as the Chinese."
"Quite as selfish, alas!"
"What became of Böttger?"