September 27, 1900] 



NATURE 



529 



point of the caravan routes between Egypt, Syria and 

 Southern Arabia— owed its traditional foundation to 

 Minos, and continued down to Roman times to worship the 

 Cretan Zeus. The great cave on Mount Dicta, which was 

 the legendary scene of the infancy of this indigenous 

 divinity, to whom, as we have seen, the Palace of 

 Knossos was also consecrated, has now been thoroughly 

 explored by Mr. Hogarth, and has produced a vast mass 

 of votive relics illustrating the prehistoric culture of Crete 

 from the earliest Metal Age onwards. The crevices of 

 the stalactite columns of the lower part of the cave were 

 found to have been utilised for the insertion of bronze 

 offerings, especially miniature figures of the double axe, 

 which was the particular symbol of this God. Many 

 stone libation tables were also found representing the | 

 adaptation of early 

 Egyptian forms, " and 

 among . the votive 

 bronzes an Egyptian 

 figure of the god Amon 

 Ra, whose personality 

 presents some points 

 of affinity to the chief 

 Cretan God. Another 

 bronze from this site, a 

 miniature chariot, drawn 

 by an ox and a ram, 

 has a special interest as 

 an early example of a 

 series of votive bronzes 

 on wheels, in the shape 

 of cars and tripods, sup- 

 porting bowls, birds and 

 other objects, which 

 form a feature in the 

 remains of a wide Euro- 

 pean zone during the 

 Late Bronze and Early 

 Iron Age. That their 

 ultimate source was 

 Egypt appears probable 

 from the four-wheeled 

 car with the silver boat 

 of Queen Aah-hotep ; 

 but here again we see 

 among Cretan remains 

 what is probably the 

 earliest European ex- 

 ample of the class. 

 Once more the archaeo- 

 logical phenomena bring home to us the fact that we 

 stand here at the meeting-place of the North and South 

 wind. Arthur J. Evans. 



without cease" (p. ix.), and (in reference to rock-systems) 

 "the different components of the soil of South Alaska 

 are all stratified " (p. 232). The picturesque passages in 

 the descriptions of the scenery have, however, lost their 

 glow and read somewhat flat, as indeed can scarcely be 

 avoided in a close translation. The distinctiveness of 

 Prof. Israel C. Russell's name seems lost under the un- 

 familiar initials J. C, which are used throughout the 

 book (except in the appendix, p. 232), although the full 

 name is given correctly on p. 3, Considering the high 

 estimation in which the citizens of San Francisco hold 

 their business energy, it is rather amusing to read Dr. 

 Filippi's impression that their city "being an agricultural 

 centre, is very quiet and exempt from the feverish 

 turmoil of the industrial Eastern States" (pp. 9-10). 



THE 



ELI AS 



ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. 

 {ALASKA)} 

 nPHE Italian original of this work was reviewed in our 

 -■■ columns a short time ago (see Nature, May 3), 

 and we now welcome the English translation. In the 

 preface we are informed that "the whole profit on the 

 sale of the Italian edition, together with all royalties 

 and rights on foreign editions, will be dedicated to an 

 Insurance Fund for Italian Guides." 



In its present garb the story of the expedition is told 

 in simple and straightforward language, with only here 

 and there an unaccustomed term to show its foreign 

 origin ; e.g. " In September snow-storms continue almost 



1 "The Ascent of Mount St. Elias (Alaska)." By H.R.H. Prince 

 Luigi Amedeo di Savoia, Duke of the Abruzzi ; narrated by Filippo de 

 Filippi : illustrated by Vittorio Sella : and translated by Signora Linda 

 Villari with the author's supervision. Pp. xii -t- 241. 34 photogravure 

 plates, 4 panoramic views, and 117 illustrations in text. (Westminster: 

 Archibald Constable and Co., 1900.) 



Fig. I. — Mount St. Elias from the third Newt on Cascade, 



The profuse illustrations of the original are all repro- 

 duced ; and in other respects this English edition is 

 almost, but not quite, as sumptuous as its Italian fore- 

 runner. In fact so handsome is it, that in spite of the 

 great mountaineering achievement which it chronicles, 

 one cannot help harbouring, like a well-known essayist 

 under similar circumstances, a lurking desire to strip it 

 of its fine coat to re-clothe some ragged veteran of 

 greater intrinsic consequence. G. W. L. 



NO. 16 13, VOL. 62] 



JOHN ANDERSON, M.D., LL.D., F.R.S., &-c. 

 "DY the death, on August 15, of Dr. John Anderson, 

 -L^ in his sixty-seventh year, a serious loss has been 

 inflicted on zoological science. Amongst the zoologists 

 of this and other countries. Dr. Anderson was widely 

 known and warmly esteemed. The particular branch of 

 inquiry to which for many years before his death he had 

 devoted himself, the investigation of the Vertebrata of 

 Egypt, could only be successfully carried on by a 

 naturalist who, in addition to experience in collecting, 

 had both time and funds at his command, and who 

 also possessed sufficient energy and tact to ensure the 



