March 22, 1900J 



NATURE 



493 



ceedings were opened by the dutiful addresses of the 

 secretary of the Academy (Prof. Auwers), and the Minister 

 of Education (Dr. Studt), a choir from the Royal School 

 of Music sang Haydn's " Du bist dem Ruhm und Ehre 

 gebiihrt." At the close of the ceremony, Lowe's " Salvum 

 fac Regem " was sung. 



In the speech from the throne his Majesty welcomed the dele- 

 gates and recalled the long and intimate connection which had 

 existed between the Academy and the House of Hohenzollern, 

 and its foundation by the Elector Frederick III. (King Frederick I. 

 of Prussia) on the initiative of Leibnitz, its first president. All 

 the Prussian kings had been protectors of the society. William I. 

 had said: — "The interest in learning which is felt by every 

 Prussian king is shared by me." These words had been illus- 

 trated in connection with the Academy. The Emperor was 

 glad to be able to say that the society had now maintained its 

 activity throughout two centuries, and had completely fulfilled 

 the expectations which his ancestors had placed in it. There 

 were, no doubt, good reasons for the fact that German science 

 had developed in close connection with the Universities. As 

 the immortal Helmholtz had borne witness, academic teaching 

 and intercourse with the students furnished abundant sources of 

 energy for scientific research. But none the less the organisation 

 and conduct of scientific work by academies had proved itself to 

 lie an essential element of scientific progress, and one which could 

 not be neglected if great objects were to be attained. The 

 Academy had come into existence more than a century before 

 the University of Berlin, and had at an earlier date undertaken 

 the task of simultaneously promoting all branches of learning. 

 The Emperor intimated that he would now extend the society by 

 the addition to the philosophical and historical section of a 

 number of chairs principally devoted to German philological 

 research. German philological research, his Majesty considered, 

 should be especially cultivated in the capital of the United 

 German Empire. The physical and mathematical section was 

 to be strengthened in the same way, in consideration of the 

 importance of the technical sciences in the present day. 



"The Academy," continued the Emperor, "has trom the 

 very beginning taken all knowledge to be its province, but, on 

 the other hand, it can be said to its credit that it has refrained 

 Irom the pursuit of every interest unconnected with learning. 

 The great events of the national life have, indeed, been 

 reflected in its activity, and have often found enthusiastic 

 expression in the words of its speakers on festal occasions. But 

 the Academy has always disdained to descend into the turmoil 

 of political passions, and has regarded the pure and disinterested 

 cultivation of science as its highest duty. In this unselfish 

 devotion, to which it owes so much, and which is a guarantee 

 for its further success, the Academy serves the divinely 

 appointed object of all knowledge, which is to lead mankind 

 to a more profound understanding of Divine truth. However, 

 the natural sciences may seek as their final goal to discover the 

 first cause of all being and phenomena, it still remains true that, 

 in the words of Goethe, himself once a foreign member of this 

 society, 'the real, the only, and the profoundesl theme of the 

 history of the world and of humanity, a theme to which all 

 others are subordinate, is the conflict between belief and 

 unbelief,' and— as should be added, in conformity with his 

 meaning— the dealings of God with man. So it holds good 

 of your work that, as was the desire of Liebnitz, ' the honour of 

 God and the good of all humanity are constantly promoted ' by 

 science. May this always be so, and to that end may the 

 blessing of the Most High rest upon you in the new century as 

 in the past." 



In connection with the bi-centenary the Emperor has conferred 

 the Order of the Red Eagle, first-class, upon Prof. Mommsen ; 

 the star of the Royal Order of the Crown, second-class, upon 

 Prof. Auwers, the permanent secretary of the Academy ; the 

 Order of the Red Eagle, third-class, upon Prof. Adolf Karnack ; 

 and a number of distinctions upon other eminent scholars and 

 men of science who have rendered services to the Academy. 



Lord Kelvin and Prof. Max Mtiller have been elected Foreign 

 Members. The following Englishmen and Ame icans have been 

 elected Corresponding Members :— Prof. Gibbs, of Newhaven ; 

 Prof. Rowland, of Baltimore ; Sir J. Burdon-Sanderson, Bart., of 

 Oxford ; Prof. William James, of Cambridge, Mass. ; Prof. 

 Kenyon, of London ; Prof. Mahafify, of Dublin ; Dr. A. S. 

 Murray, of the British Museum ; Mr. F. L. (iriflith, of Ashton- 

 under-Lyne ; and Prof. F. W. Mailland, of Cambridge. 



NO. 1586, VOL. 61] 



A special meeting of the Academy was held on Tuesday ir> 

 the Prussian Chamber of Deputies^ in celebration of the bi- 

 centenary. Among those present were the Imperial Chancel- 

 lor (Prince Hohenlohe), the Italian Ambassador (Count Lanza), 

 the British Ambassador (Sir Frank Lascelles), and the AmbaS'' 

 sador of Austria-Hungary (Herr von Seogyeny-Marich). The 

 proceedings were opened and closed by wonderful performances- 

 of an orchestra from the Royal School of Music under Prof. 

 Joachim, which played a sonata by Giovanni Gabrieli (i597> 

 and Stadler's hymn, "Grosser Gott, AUmachtiger Gott." Prof. 

 Ilarnack delivered an eloquent address on the history of the 

 Academy, and concluded with the words : — " May the lig^ti 

 which was in the beginning and the word which was in the be- 

 ginning continue to illuminate the spirit of this insdtution in the 

 third century of its existence ! " 



The representatives of foreign academies and learned societies 

 then presented addresses of congratulation. The following were 

 among the foreign deputations : — On behalf of the Royal Society 

 of London, Dr. T. E. Thorpe and Prof. W. Rainsay ; for the 

 Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, Prof. R. Atkinson and Prof. 

 Mahaffy ; for the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Dr. J. Burgess 

 and Dr. R. H. Traquair ; for the Royal Asiatic Society of Great 

 Britain and Ireland, Dr. M. Gasten and Mr. H. Lyon ; for the 

 Smithsonian Institution of Washington, the Ambassador of the 

 United States of America, Mr. Andrew D. White ; for the 

 American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Prof. J. W, White and 

 Prof. J. C. Wolff, of Harvard University ; for the Academie des 

 Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres de I'lnstitut de France, M. Gastork 

 Paris and M. E. Senart ; for the Academie des Sciences de 

 I'lnstitut de France, M. G. Darboux, Doyen de la Faculte de 

 Sciences de Paris ; for the Academie des Sciences Morales et 

 Politiques de I'lnstitut, M. Greard, Rector de I'Universite de 

 Paris, and the Comte de Franqueville, Vice-President de 1' Aca- 

 demie. Dr. Nansen also presented congratulations. 



In replying to the addresses of the deputations, Prof Diels 

 said that contemporaneous with the bi-centenary of the Berlin 

 Academy was the birth of what he might call the "academy of 

 the world," the international association of the academies of all 

 countries, founded four weeks ago. After sketching the objects 

 of this association, he announced that he was able to lay on the 

 table the first fruits of its labours in the shape of the first printed 

 sheets of the "Thesaurus Lingua; Ladnse." He expressed the 

 hope that the nations might follow the example of the 

 academies and the Universities by uniting in the peaceful task 

 of extending to the whole world the civilisation and the culture 

 of Europe and America. 



INNERMOST ASIA.^ 



PROMPTED more by the love of sport than by any 

 scientific aspiration, Mr. Cobbold undertook an 

 adventurous (and in many respects an instructive) journey 

 from India into- the regions of High Asia ; and regarded 

 as a record of sport and adventure, he has told his tale 

 so well that he is likely to produce an embarrassing 

 demand on the Indian Foreign Department for leave to 

 follow in his footsteps. He seems to have had no special 

 difificulty in obtaining permission to visit the Pamirs, in 

 spite of the well known reluctance of the Indian Govern- 

 ment to entertain the risk of "complications" involved 

 in the casual collisions of British and Russian officers on 

 the far frontier. Indeed, he naturally finds it difficult to 

 understand why so many more obstacles were placed in 

 the way of his return than of his visit to the Pamirs. 



In August 1897, he followed the high road through 

 Kashmir to Gilgit and Hunza, crossing the Kilik Pass in 

 the company of Captain Deasy. who was bent on a 

 scientific mission in the same direction. After fair 

 success with Ovis poli in the neighbourhood of the 

 Tagdumbash Pamir, he passed on to Kashgar and 

 started northward from that place to Vierney and Lake 

 Balkash. In the reed beds that surround Balkash he 

 achieved a notable feat, for he bagged a tiger under 

 circumstances that were sufficiently excitiilg to satisfy 

 the most ardent sportsman ; and this may surely rank as 



1" Innermost Asia." By Ralph P. Cobbold. Pp. xviii -)- 354. (London : 

 Heinemann, 1900.) 



