The discovery, in Böttgher’s intelligent hands, led to great results, and proved of far greater importance than the discovery of the philosopher’s stone would have been. In October, 1707, he presented his first piece of porcelain to the Elector, who was greatly pleased with it; and it was resolved that Böttgher should be furnished with the means necessary for perfecting his invention. Having obtained a skilled workman from Delft, he began to _turn_ porcelain with great success. He now entirely abandoned alchemy for pottery, and inscribed over the door of his workshop this distich:— “_Es machte Gott_, _der grosse Schöpfer_, _Aus einem Goldmacher einen Töpfer_.” {84} Böttgher, however, was still under strict surveillance, for fear lest he should communicate his secret to others or escape the Elector’s control. The new workshops and furnaces which were erected for him, were guarded by troops night and day, and six superior officers were made responsible for the personal security of the potter. Böttgher’s further experiments with his new furnaces proving very successful, and the porcelain which he manufactured being found to fetch large prices, it was next determined to establish a Royal Manufactory of porcelain. The manufacture of delft ware was known to have greatly enriched Holland. Why should not the manufacture of porcelain equally enrich the Elector? Accordingly, a decree went forth, dated the 23rd of January, 1710, for the establishment of “a large manufactory of porcelain” at the Albrechtsburg in Meissen. In this decree, which was translated into Latin, French, and Dutch, and distributed by the Ambassadors of the Elector at all the European Courts, Frederick Augustus set forth that to promote the welfare of Saxony, which had suffered much through the Swedish invasion, he had “directed his attention to the subterranean treasures (_unterirdischen Schätze_)” of the country, and having employed some able persons in the investigation, they had succeeded in manufacturing “a sort of red vessels (_eine Art rother Gefässe_) far superior to the Indian terra sigillata;” {85} as also “coloured ware and plates (_buntes Geschirr und Tafeln_) which may be cut, ground, and polished, and are quite equal to Indian vessels,” and finally that “specimens of white porcelain (_Proben von weissem Porzellan_)” had already been obtained, and it was hoped that this quality, too, would soon be manufactured in considerable quantities. The royal decree concluded by inviting “foreign artists and handicraftmen” to come to Saxony and engage as assistants in the new factory, at high wages, and under the patronage of the King. This royal edict probably gives the best account of the actual state of Böttgher’s invention at the time.