December io, 190S] 



NA TURE 



163 



whom no mention is made — as due to a system of 

 naming. 



A tliird of the book is talven up with the exposition 

 of the solar god in mythology, and the author certainly 

 gives examples of solar and other myths from different 

 peoples, but he presses into this argument various 

 ri)lk-tales which do not seem to have any solar signifi- 

 cance. It is true that certain incidents in some of 

 these tales may be paralleled by incidents in folk-tales 

 in other parts of the world which are recognisable 

 as solar myths, for, to take one example, a fishing 

 population is very likely to have in one of its tales 

 the incident of a man being swallowed by a fish ; and 

 wherever this occurs the solar mythologists pick out 

 this incident and regard it as a part of the " Jonah- 

 solar myth," although the rest of the tale may have 

 no bearing at all on solar inytholog}'. This incident 



too, weaves its web. Thus the slender threads of the 

 spider become solar rays and the sun becomes the 

 spider which in artful ways ensnares the souls of 

 mortals. The solar myth, however, became a nursery 

 tale." There are two chapters on the origin of the 

 world, the fall of the sky, the flood, and the theft of 

 fire. 



It will be seen that the book covers a broad field 

 and contains much interesting matter, some of which 

 is not easily accessible to the English-reading public; 

 and, indeed, there seem to be some accounts not 

 previously published, but the absence of references 

 renders it difficult to be quite certain on these points, 

 and is, indeed, a very serious blemish in the book. 

 There is a large number of excellent figures and plates, 

 but a great many of these are not explained, and 

 appear to have no bearing on the text. Finally, the 



-The Juju Nkali Feast 



occurs in folk-tales from various places, and in the 

 Torres .Straits tale of Mutuk it is recorded that the 

 hair of that individual fell off when he was in the 

 shark's stomach. The same incident occurs in the 

 North .American tale, when Kaig, the Mink, was 

 swallowed by a whale, the loss of hair in this case 

 being due to the heat ; in the tale as here given it is 

 not evident that " the cause of the hair falling off is 

 the heat of the sun " (p. 2S7). The same explanation 

 is offered for the Mutuk incident; by such methods 

 correspondences are readilv arrived at, but this is not 

 the place to discuss the modern recrudescence of astral- 

 mythology in Germany. 



The bird in symbolic art, according to Dr. Frobenius, 

 bears the soul aloft through the air up to the sun. 

 " But here is the solution of the whole problem ; the 

 soul of the dead man follows the sun." He considers 

 that the tales of the cunning spider are survivals of 

 mythological tales in which the spider is regarded as 

 representing the sun. " In the form of rays the sun 

 emits its sea of light ; in the form of rays the spider, 

 NO 2041, VOL. 79] 



The Childhood of Man.' 



book is rather an exposition of the author's views than 

 of those generally held by ethnologists. 



A. C. Haddon. 



ALBERT GAUDRY. 

 p>IOLOGIC.AL and geological science mourns the 

 •'-' loss of Prof. Albert Gaudry, who, full of years 

 and honours, passed away at Paris on November 29. 

 He was one of the most distinguished pioneers in the 

 modern methods of studying extinct animals, and 

 during the past half-century his brilliant expositions 

 and suggestive writings have been among the most 

 potent influences for the direction of pateontological 

 research to profitable ends. In the case of his pupils 

 and those who had the privilege of his personal 

 acquaintance, the charm of his courtly manner and 

 quiet enthusiasm strengthened these influences, and 

 made him a revered master. 



Jean Albert Gaudry was born at Saint-Germain-en- 

 Laye on September 15, 1827, the son of a well-known 



