Reminiscences of Werner and Freiberg. 337 
In the snow-fields of the glacier of Viesch, to which refer- 
ence was made in the beginning of this account, the bands of 
ice have almost a uniform thickness of a few inches; it is the 
same with the intervening beds of snow (which are from two to 
three feet thick), so that, considering their regularity, we are 
naturally led to regard them as annual beds. Where the al- 
ternations are less regular, they may not improperly be ascribed 
to the reiterated variations of temperature in one and the same 
season. 
Care must be taken not to confound the phenomenon of 
bands of ice interposed between layers of snow with that 
of small beds of snow everywhere met with in compact ice. 
The latter occurrence is owing to other causes, which we will 
explain in another article.* 
Reminiscences of Werner and Freiberg, and of Malte-Brun. 
By Professor Henry Srerrens of Berlin.} 
I.—WERNER AND FREIBERG. 
Ovrt first impressions of Freiberg were by no means agree- 
able. The barren hills appeared exceedingly dreary. Wesaw 
the mine of Himmelfahrt and Abraham on our left, and a bell 
marked at uniform pauses the revolutions of the great hydrau- 
lic wheels of the mines. It seemed as if the spirits of the mines 
were already engaged in their mysterious and noisy orgies. 
We became silent as we passed through the streets ; and the ne- 
cessity of our remaining for some time resident there, was by 
no means agreeable to us. When, however, we had left the 
inn, and established ourselves in an agreeable lodging —though 
one surrounded by poor and wretched houses—our first dissa- 
tisfied feelings were soon blunted. The new occupations 
which lay before us—the descent into the mines, the subter- 
ranean activity which had existed here en so large a scale for 
i 
* From Bib. Univ. de Genéve, No. 71, p. 112. 
+ From Professor Steffens’ very interesting work, “ Was ich Erlebte,” now 
in course of publication.—Epir. 
+ Moller, a Norwegian, and therefore a fel!low-countryman of Professor 
Steffens, was his:companion.—Ep11. 
