216 
NATURE 
[JANUARY 21, 1907 
missing monastery recorded by Fordun as existing 
in the Orkneys, and for which sites have been claimed 
in Helliarholm and Stromness, will be interested to 
know that the hitherto disregarded buildings in the 
immediate vicinity of the chapel on Eynhallow are 
recognised by the author as part and parcel of one 
whole establishment, which he is satisfied is none 
other than the Cistercian monastery presided over by 
Laurentius until he 
Was transferred to Melrose in 
1175. 
Coming to speak of the cathedral of St. Magnus, 
‘the grandest building in the Orkneys, next to 
Trondhjem Cathedral the mightiest monument of the 
whole of ancient Norway,”’’ he looks upon it as the 
living embodiment of the idea that when the war- 
lilse spirit of the Vikings sank to rest their intellectual 
strength and civilising power came into play. Mr. 
Myers contributes chapters on the architecture and 
the architectural history of the cathedral, also a com- 
parison with buildings of the same period elsewhere. 
On entering the building he is appalled by the 
vulgarity that dominates the whole of the modern 
decoration, especially the painted wooden screen, the 
hideous galleries, and the walled-up triforium, and 
appeals to the noble Scot by picture and pen to* re- 
move the disturbing additions and regain the grand 
‘effect of an unbroken interior. 
These chapters will be read with great interest, 
the more so as a recent large legacy is available for 
the repair and restoration of the building. They are 
given in full in both languages, characterised by 
strong individuality in the method of treatment, and 
exhibit a wider range of professional knowledge of 
the subject than has hitherto been displayed in its 
investigation, entering minutely into details of con- 
struction and ornamentation, as well as interpret- 
ing the thoughts of the various builders to whom he 
has assigned the different additions and alterations. 
He introduces many ideas that will be new even to 
those most familiar with the building and who have 
given it much consideration. The result of his com- 
parison with Durham, Southwell, Dunfermline, the 
late lamented Selby and some others leads him 
to conclude that the artistic tendencies which pro- 
duced the original structure issued mainly from the 
north of England, probably Durham, and spread not 
only to Orkney, but to the west of Norway. Passing 
on to other buildings of the Norwegian period, the 
author traces from the existing ruins of the bishop’s 
palace at Kirkwall the form and subdivisions of the 
original structure, describes the more modern addi- 
tions, and mentions several points on which his con- 
clusions differ from those of former writers. He says 
of the palace :— 
‘There is no building in the Orkney Isles that is 
more revered by us Norwegians than the palace in 
which our greatest king died.” 
A short account of the Norse earls’ palace at 
‘Birsay and Notland Castle in Westray ends the 
Norse period. 
The Scottish division treats of the Stuarts’ palaces 
‘at Birsay and Kirkwall, and of the style of building 
NO. 1944, VOL. 75] 
in town and country, in which Norse characteristics 
blend more or less with the now almost all- bah 2 
Scottish style. 
The five appendices to the volume comprise a 
lengthy Orkney chronology; lists of Orkney earls and 
bishops; the island names mentioned in the Sagas, 
Fordun, and other authors, down to the most recent 
chart in a carefully tabulated form; and a-table of 
the genealogy of the Orkney earls. The work ‘is 
profusely and beautifully illustrated, chiefly by 
original drawings executed by Mr. Myers. The cover 
bears the arms of Kirlwall emblazoned on it. The 
book is one of the most valuable contributions to the 
historical literature of our islands, if not the most, 
that has appeared since the time that Barry first 
published his ‘‘ History.’’ J. W. Cursiter. 
ORGANIC CHEMISTRY FOR STUDENTS. 
Cours de Chimie organique. By Fréd. Swarts. Pp. 
669. (Paris: A. Hermann, 1906.) 
CCORDING to the preface, this book is intended 
for medical, engineering, pharmaceutical, and 
other students who, having attended lectures in 
organic chemistry, desire to increase their knowledge 
of the subject without expending the time necessary 
for a more advanced course. It is founded on the 
author’s lectures delivered to students commencing 
the study of organic chemistry at the University of 
Ghent. To these lectures Prof. Swarts has added, as 
far as possible, the descriptive material which he 
considers necessary for the study of elementary 
organic chemistry, as also the discussion of the theo- 
retical points omitted from the lectures in consequence 
of lack of time. The distribution of these theoretical 
discussions throughout the text is preferred to their 
collection in an introduction, as giving the student 
an opportunity of first becoming acquainted with the 
substances concerned, only the more typical of which 
are specially described. 
Such a book is admirably planned to assist the 
student who has had the stipulated preliminary train- 
ing in realising the close connection which exists 
between the experimental facts and the theories of 
organic chemistry. It is, therefore, all the more to 
be regretted that, after opening the introduction with 
a few historical remarks, the author has inserted a 
number of short sections on such subjects as iso- 
merism, metamerism, polvmerism, tautomerism, 
multiple linkings, and stereoisomerism. In any case 
these are subjects which are bound to be referred te 
in the descriptive text. This, in fact, happens, stereo- 
isomerism, for example, being discussed in a far more 
satisfactory manner with the crotonic acids and with 
fumaric and maleic acid. 
These matters are followed in the introduction by 
the usual few pages devoted to an account of quali- 
tative and quantitative elementary organic analysis. 
It seems to the present writer that however useful 
such pages may be in the ordinary text-book on 
organic chemistry, in a book which lays special stress 
on the theoretical as opposed to the descriptive side 
