340 



NATURE 



[November 26, 19 14 



the earliest larvae of the common eel in mid- 

 Atlantic, in the region south-west of the Azores, 

 were first described by Dr. Hjort in the pages of 

 Nature (November 24, 1910), immediately after 

 the return of the expedition. In the present 

 memoir the preliminary description then given is 

 extended, and a large number of other eel larvae 

 in various stages of development are described. 

 An attempt is made, with considerable success, to 

 correlate the distribution of the muraenoid larvae 

 with the hydrographical conditions (salinity, tem- 

 perature, and depth) at the positions where they 

 were captured. 



The last memoir is a short paper by 0rjan Olsen 

 on the Pycnogonida, of which C olios sen dels 

 inichaelsarsi and Nyniphon longituherculatus are 

 new, and are described in detail with good figures. 



The volume is produced in excellent style, and 

 the illustrations are without exception well done. 

 The whole series of reports, it is explained, will 

 comprise five volumes, the total cost of which 

 will not exceed 20I. It is added that separate 

 volumes will not be offered for sale, an arrange- 

 ment which will probably seriously curtail the dis- 

 tribution, and consequently the usefulness, of the 

 work, E. J. Allen. 



BELGIAN PROFESSORS AND STUDENTS 

 AT CAMBRIDGE. 



UNIVERSITIES always have had small begin- 

 nings, and the attempt to build up an 

 informal Belgian university at Cambridge is no 

 exception to the rule. After the fall of Louvain, 

 Cambridge formally asked the university authori- 

 ties of that town to bring over such students and 

 professors as could come with the view of carrying 

 on their studies here, so that the continuity which 

 every university greatly values should not be inter- 

 rupted. It was the time of the Papal election, and 

 Cardinal Mercier, the head of the University of 

 Louvain, was away in Rome, and there was a 

 good deal of difficulty in getting into touch with 

 him, and before anything was settled Lifege had 

 also fallen. The hospitality of Cambridge was 

 then extended to the university of that town. 

 After some negotiations it was found impossible 

 for either university to transfer its corporate and 

 official existence beyond the Channel, and it there- 

 fore became impossible to attempt to organise 

 official courses of study, to institute examinations, 

 or to grant diplomas. 



This, however, has not prevented the formation 

 of unofficial courses, combining so far as possible 

 systematic instruction on the lines of the Belgian 

 universities with the individual requirements of 

 refugee students and the restrictions of a neces- 

 sarily rather incomplete Belgian teaching staff. 

 The necessity of some kind of organised occupa- 

 tion was fully recognised, both by the professors 

 assembled at Cambridge and by the Belgian 

 Government. Cambridge hoped to take some part 

 in protecting the students from the demoralising 

 and dangerous consequences of enforced idleness 

 - — a condition likely to be prolonged for months 

 even after the conclusion of the war, owing to the 



NO. 2352, VOL. 94] 



devastation of houses and property in the Belgian 

 seats of learning. 



The presence of professors representing almost 

 all faculties has rendered it possible to form 

 courses in several of them, though no one faculty 

 can boast a quite complete organisation. The 

 faculties of philosophy and letters (so important 

 to a large section of students, viz., those who in 

 ordinary conditions would just have entered upon 

 their university education), and those of law and 

 of engineering are so far the most favourably 

 placed. Each of them is represented by several 

 professors. Those who act as secretaries for their 

 respective faculties are Prof. Carnoy (Louvain) 

 for philosophy and letters. Prof. Dupriez (Lou- 

 vain) for law, and Prof. Breithof (Louvain) for en- 

 gineering. The faculties of medicine and science, 

 represented by Prof, van Gehuchten (Louvain) and 

 Prof. Colson (Louvain) respectively, are at present 

 being organised, and the number of their students 

 is constantly growing. It is hoped to organise 

 the teaching in these faculties more completely 

 with the assistance of professors who may feel 

 disposed to take up their residence in Cambridge 

 and to take their sliare in the direction of studies. 

 A fairly large number of students of the commer- 

 cial and consular sciences has also assembled, and 

 as the published list of lectures shows this faculty 

 is doing well. 



It should also be mentioned that for each 

 Belgian faculty " in being " there is a correspond- 

 ing British committee consisting of a president 

 and a secretary, whose pleasant duty it is to 

 arrange lecture-rooms, libraries, laboratory facili- 

 ties, etc., for both the Belgian professoriate and 

 the Belgian students. 



Cambridge has indeed room for far more Bel- 

 gian students than she is likely to receive. Many 

 of the colleges are more than half empty, and the 

 Lodging-House Syndicate estimate that there are 

 a thousand sets of students' rooms vacant in the 

 town. The stout-hearted landladies are very 

 patriotic, and they are willing to give board and 

 lodging to Belgian students at the rate of 155. to 

 205. a week, which can scarcely be very remunera- 

 tive to these stricken ladies. Everyone is willing 

 "to do a bit," and only the other day a chimney- 

 sweep after having finished his work at one of 

 these lodging-houses turned to the landlady and 

 said: "Got any Belgians here?" and when, she 

 said "Yes," replied : "Then I makes no charge." 



Of course a large number of the professors and 

 students are literally destitute, but the University 

 has collected a certain sum which enables our 

 honoured guests to be clothed and fed, and even to 

 provide thf students with pocket-money every 

 Saturday morning. 



One rule was adopted from the very beginning 

 and has been rigidly adhered to, and that is, that 

 only such students would he helped at Cambridge 

 nvho had papers showing that they were physically 

 unfit for military service, or had been rejected for 

 other reasons by the Belgian authorities. All 

 students, therefore, who wish to avail themselves 

 of the hospitality offered by the University of 

 Cambridge and of the courses arranged by the 



