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BOOK IV.

When it is time to go to work the sound of a great bell, which the foreignerscall a “ campana,” gives the workmen warning, and when this is heard theyrun hither and thither through the streets toward the mines. Similarly,the same sound of the bell warns the foreman that a shift has just beenfinished ; therefore as soon as he hears it, he stamps on the woodwork of theshaft and signals the workmen to come out. Thereupon, the nearest as soonas they hear the signal, strike the rocks with their hammers, and the soundreaches those who are furthest away. Moreover, the lamps show that theshift has come to an end when the oil becomes almost consumed and failsthem. The labourers do not work on Saturdays, but buy those things whichare necessary to life, nor do they usually work on Sundays or annualfestivals, but on these occasions devote the shift to holy things. However,the workmen do not rest and do nothing if necessity demands their labour ;for sometimes a rush of water compels them to work, sometimes an impendingfall, sometimes something else, and at such times it is not consideredirreligious to work on holidays. Moreover, all workmen of this class arestrong and used to toil from birth.

The chief kinds of workmen are miners, shovelers, windlass men, carriers,sorters, washers, and smelters, as to whose duties I will speak in the fol-lowing books, in their proper place. At present it is enough to add this onefact, that if the workmen have been reported by the foreman for negligence,the Bergmeister , or even the foreman himself, jointly with the manager,dismisses them from their work on Saturday, or deprives them of part oftheir pay ; or if for fraud, throws them into prison. However, the ownersof works in which the metals are smelted, and the master of the smelter, lookafter their own men. As to the government and duties of miners, I havenow said enough; I will explain them more fully in another work entitledDe Jure et Legibus Metallicis 17 .

17 This work was apparently never published; see Appendix A.

END OF BOOK IV.