November 7, 1901] 



NA TURE 



ejusque semisseni restituit : Hipparchi solius ab orbe 

 condito vel diis improbos in octava duntaxat gradus 

 parte conalus longissime antegressus : utriusque luminaris 

 cursum exquisite restauravit, pro reliquis eiraticis soli- 

 dissima tabularum RudolphacaruDi fundamenta jecit : 

 Mathematicaruni rerum peritis inveteratam Aristotelis et 

 asseclarum doctrinam de sublunari cometarum novo- 

 rumque sideriim situ, denionstrationibus invictis exemit : 

 novarum hypothesium autor ; in Stagyricis et universa 

 philosophiaadmirandus; evocatus ab invictissimo Romano 

 imperatore Rudolpho Secundo^ mira doctrina; et candoris 

 exempla dedit ; ne frustra vixisse videretur, immortali- 

 tatem, etiam apud Antipodas scriptorum perennitate sibi 

 comparavit ; planeque qualis esse quam haberi maluit, 

 nunc vita functus a;ternum vivit. 



Ejus exuvias uxorisque triennio post defunct;e heredes 

 liberi sacro hocloco composuerunt. Obiit quarto kalend. 

 Novembris anni Christiani Uionysiaci MDCI retails 

 suae LV. 



Non fasces, nee opes, sola artis sceptra perennant." 

 Around the totnbstone bearing Tycho's likeness we 

 read: "Anno Domini MDCI die XXIV Octobris obiit 

 illustris et generosus Dominus Tycho Brahe, Dominus in 

 Knudstrup et Prreses Uraniburgi et sacras Cresarere 

 Majestatis Consiliarius, Cujus ossa hie requiescunt." 



When the visit to Tycho's tomb took place, the Mayor 

 of Prague laid a beautiful wreath upon the tomb which 

 bore the inscription upon ribbons in national colours, 

 " To the great philosopher — the Royal Capital of 

 Prague." Other wreaths bore the inscriptions, " Univer- 

 sitas Hafniensis," " Societas regia scientiarum Danica," 

 '■ Fra Danske Studenter." There were also wreaths from 

 Prof. Safarik, the Observatory of Prague, and many 

 others from literary and scientific societies. 



The visitors afterwards proceeded to a house on the 

 "Fruit Market," where a memorial tablet of marble was 

 placed stating that Kepler lived there from 1604- 1607. 

 In the afternoon the Belvedere of Tycho Brahe was 

 visited and a name "Tycho Street'' was given to a nesv 

 street opposite it. The long row of carriages bearing 

 the numerous visitors then proceeded to a quiet street 

 near the now abandoned Royal Castle, and the house 

 "At the Golden Griffin" was shown, having in front a 

 marble tablet stating that Tycho lived there in 1600 and 

 1601. Finally, the place was visited where Tycho's last 

 observatory formerly stood and where a new street, 

 bearing the name of Kepler, is now situated. 



In this way was celebrated the memory of the great 

 astronomer whose work marks a great epoch in that 

 science, and from whose observations his friend and 

 colleague Kepler calculated his well-known laws. 



BOHUSLAV BRAUNER. 



Celebrations in Denmark and Sweden. 



In Copenhagen the Society of Science celebrated the 

 tercentenary of Tycho Brahe's death in the presence of 

 the King and Royal family and all the members of the 

 Society. The meeting was opened with a short address 

 by the president of the Society, Prof. Jul. Thomsen, who 

 announced that Dr. J. L. E. Dreyer, who was born in Den- 

 mark, had had the order of Knight of the Dannebrog 

 conferred upon him by the King. Prof. Fridericia gave 

 a lecture on the personality of Tycho Brahe. He pointed 

 out his scientific enthusiasm and his accurate observa- 

 tions, and showed how towards the close of his life he 

 neglected the mystical side of astrology and regarded 

 astronomy more from the physical point of view. The 

 astronomer's statue in the grounds of the Copenhagen 

 Observatory was decked with wreaths and flowers. 



At the University of Lund a bust of Tycho Brahe was 

 unveiled. The Stockholm Academy of Science celebrated 

 the event by a memorial festival in the presence of Prince 

 Eugen and several of the ministers, when speeches were 

 delivered by President Odhner and Prof. Duner. 



NO. 167 1, VOL. 65] 



STUDIES ON THE ETHNOGRAPHY OF THE 

 NORTH QUEENSLAND ABORIGINES} 



A NTHROPOLOGISTS so fully recognised the value 

 -'*- of Dr. Walter E. Roth's " Ethnological Studies 

 among the North- West-Central Queensland Aboriginals " 

 that there was considerable satisfaction when the news 

 arrived a year or two ago of his appointment as Northern 

 Protector of Aboriginals in Queensland. We now have 

 the pleasure of receiving two Bullctius on North Queens- 

 land ethnography, which are the first-fruits of that able 

 investigator's researches in his new sphere, and at the 

 same time we must thank and compliment the Home 

 Secretary's Department in Brisbane for issumg these 

 Bulletins, especially as we are promised two or three 

 similar Bullciins annually. Dr. Roth expresses his deep' 

 indebtedness to the Hon. J. F. G. Foxton for all the kindly 

 encouragement mvariably received from him during the 

 prosecution of his scientific labours, and it is due to his 

 wishes, as ministerial head of the Department, that these 

 researches of Dr. Roth's are now being made available 

 to the public. Dr. Roth has anticipated the thanks which 

 anthropologists at home would like to offer to this public- 

 spirited Minister. Publications such as these will dO' 

 something towards reducing that ignorance of our native 

 races which is largely due to the apathy of our Govern- 

 ment as a whole. 



The first Bulle/in consists of an essay by Dr. Roth onr 

 " String, and other Forms of Strand : Basketry-, Woven? 

 bag- and Net-work." The animal and vegetable products- 

 of which strings are made are enumerated, and Mr. F. I\L 

 Bailey, the Colonial botanist, has identified the plants 

 from which textiles are made which have been collected 

 by Dr. Roth. The method of making string, including 

 the manufacture of human-hair twine, is fully described! 

 and illustrated. Dr. Roth gives in his short direct style 

 accounts of the procedures in which string and other 

 forms of strand are employed. His classification of the 

 processes of construction of basketry, woven bags anc? 

 network will prove of considerable value to those who- 



I have to describe similar textiles from other countries. 



I His explanations are illustrated by nearly a hundred clear 

 diagrams drawn by the author and contained in nineteem 

 plates. 



The second Bulletin is devoted to the structure of the 

 Koko-Yimidir language, in which Dr. Roth has had the 

 invaluable cooperation of the Revs. G. H. Schwarz and 

 W. Poland, Lutheran missionaries at Cape Bedford 

 Mission Station. This language is spoken from the Annan> 

 and Endeavour Rivers to the northern side of Cape Flat- 

 tery. It is noteworthy that this Koko-Yimidir language 

 is the identical one of which Lieutenant Cook took a. 

 vocabulary when visiting the Endeavour River in 1770; 

 A table is given of Cook's words with those in use at the 

 present day; the "kanguroo" of the great voyager is stilt 

 spoken of as gaiiguru. There are many suggestive notes 

 on the language apart from the interest of the language 

 itself. 



We have no doubt that the succeeding nirmbers willi 

 be as valuable as those now to hand, and we shall eagerly 

 await the good things which we are sure Dr. Roth has in 

 store for us. 



CHARLES MELDRUM. 



DR. CHARLES MELDRUM was born' at Kirk- 

 michal, Banffshire, in 1821, and died in Minburgb 

 in August 1901. He was educated at Aberdeen Uni- 

 versity, and after graduation as Master of Arts he joined 

 the Bombay Education Department. In 1848 he was 

 appointed professor of mathematics in the Royal College 



1 " North Queensland Ethnography." Bulletin No. i, C.A. 11-1901, 

 price 8j. ; No. 2, C.A. 22-1901, price ri. (Brisbane ; bv Authority, 

 Edmund Gregory, Government Printer, Willi.-tm Street, igoi.i 



