Chance—to which man owes so much both of good and evil—also led to the discovery of the subterranean treasures of Idria. In the year 1497 a peasant found, in a tub which he had placed under a brook, some drops of a heavy liquid shining like silver. Although quite ignorant of the value of his discovery, he still was cunning enough to carry them to a goldsmith without mentioning the place where he had found them. At length a man named Anderlein, having promised him a handsome reward, became master of the secret, and associating himself with several wealthy persons, began to work the mine. After several years the property passed into the hands of a company of goldsmiths of Salzburg and Augsburg, which derived such profits from the mine as to excite the greed of the neighbouring Venetians, who in the year 1510 forcibly drove away the Germans, but were soon after expelled by the Emperor Maximilian, who, as soon as he heard of this insolent attack, sent some troops into the forest of Idria and restored it to its rightful owners. In 1578 the mine was incorporated among the domains of the State, and began to be worked with greater regularity. The entrance lies to the south of the town, on the slope of a small hill projecting from the circular zone of mountains which gird the basin. The visitor may either descend, in less than five minutes, to the bottom of the pit, through a perpendicular shaft, in one of the large tubs which serve to raise the ore, or he may make use of convenient stairs. Here and there are landing-places, whence galleries lead to the various fields or stories of the mine, the lowest of which is 145 fathoms under ground. The vein, however, descends much further, to an unknown depth, and its horizontal extent has likewise not yet been measured.