:S8 



NATURE 



[September 21, ign 



brightest and gayesl oi the social gatherings, under 

 the auspices oi the Students' Representative Council 

 and its president, Mr. Dickey. The uniforms of the 

 officers of the warships at present in St. Andrews Bay, 



the bright robes of the Ionian and British graduates, 

 the varied hues of the ladies" attire, and the gowns of 

 the students themselves lent a charming novelty to 

 the picture. 



Thus ended the stately celebration of the five-hun- 

 dredth anniversary of the foundation of St. Andrews 

 University, under the most cheerful of sunny skies, 

 pure (but not "piercing" air), and amidst the unique 

 academic surroundings of the place, which usually, 

 and unfortunately, are wholly absent in those great 

 populous centres where the universities spoken oi by 

 the rector will in future be. But the great stretches 

 of pure sand, the expanse of the blue waters of the 

 bay (on which the warships proudly ride), and the 

 long lines of tidal rocks remind us that nowhere 

 within the British dominions can the sciences of 

 gi ology, botany, and zoology be studied under more 

 inspiring or more favourable auspices than in the little 

 city by "the cold North Sea." Be that as it may, 

 one thing is certain, viz. that both guests and hosts 

 vied with each other in making this celebration one 

 of the most delightful and memorable gatherings it is 

 possible to conceive. W. C. M. 



EDWARD WHYMPER. 

 T N Edward Whymper, who died suddenly at 

 ■*■ Chamonix on Saturday last, September i(J, we 

 have lost one who was more than a most undaunted 

 and successful climber of mountains. Born on April 

 27, 1840, the son of an artist and engraver on wood, 

 he was brought up to the work and carried it to great 

 perfection. He went to the Alps on a professional 

 errand in i860 and began his career as a climber. 

 Next year he made the first ascent of the Pelvoux, 

 and in 1864 vanquished its neighbour, the Ecrins, the 

 highest summit of Dauphine. Before that he had 

 attacked the Matterhorn. How this was at last con- 

 quered, in 1865, and of the tragedy of the return, 

 when four lives were lost, it is needless to tell. In 

 1867 he visited Greenland and attempted to pene- 

 trate the inland ice. It was a failure, though not 

 from his fault. In 1872 he returned to do some 

 surviving on the coast. In 1879-80 he undertook his 

 notable journey to the Ecuadorian Andes, during 

 which he successfully ascended ten volcanic moun- 

 tains, ranging from 15,000 feet to above 20,000 feet, 

 most of them hitherto unclimbed, spent a night on 

 the summit of Cotopaxi, and twice reached that "I 

 ( 'himborazo. 



In later years Whymper made four or five ex- 

 ploratory expeditions in the Canadian Rockies and 

 Selkirks. But he was more than a successful moun- 

 taineer : he was a keen observer of all natural 

 phenomena. His two great and beautifully illustrated 

 books, "Scrambles amongst the Alps" and "Travels 

 amongst the Great Andes of the Equator," contain 

 much of scientific value. He was a student oi 

 and a keen critic of those who claimed for 

 them great powers of erosion; a close observer of 

 volcanic and other theological phenomena, and a 

 collector who knew what was worth bringing. While 

 at Disco Bav he obtained a fine series of fossil plants 

 and of Eskimo relic-. From the \ndes be 

 brought many specimens of rocks and other material, 

 di criptions of which have been published, and him- 

 self wrote a paper on the aneroid barometer, beside- 

 devising a modification of the mercurial instrument for 

 n high mountains. 



Whymper's latesl books, "Chamonix and Monl 

 NO. 2l86. VOL. 87] 



Blanc," published in 1806, and " Zermatt and the 

 Matterhorn," which appeared in the following vear, 

 are admirable of their kind, and have met with \ 

 success. He was a fellow of the Royal Society oi 

 Edinburgh, had received the Patron's medal of 

 Royal Geographical Society, and been decorated with 

 the Order of St. Maurice and St. Lazare, besidi - 

 being an honorary member of foreign geographical 

 societies and Alpine clubs. T. G. Bonney. 



NOTES. 

 The Government of the Commonwealth of Australia has 

 promised to contribute 5000Z. towards tl 

 Mawson Antarctic Expedition, and the Victorian Govern- 

 ment 6000Z. This amount brings the contributions of the 

 various Australian Governments to the sum of 22,000?. 



The friends of the late Christian A. Herter havi 

 tributed to a memorial fund in recognition of his labours 

 in promoting medical science. The fund, which amounts 

 to Sooo?., has been confided to the directors of The Journal 

 of Biological Chemistry. The chief aim of the trust is to 

 further the interests of that journal, which was founded 

 by Herter. 



According to the Revue Pratique de I'Electriciti, a 

 bronze statue has been erected at Poleymeux, in the Rhone 

 Department, France, in memory of Ampere. The inventor 

 is represented standing in an attitude of meditation, the 

 right hand raised to the forehead, the left clenched. On 

 the side is inscribed " La Science," suggestive of the 

 subject of his meditation. 



An International Engineering Exhibition is to be held in 

 April next at Baku, Russia, and will be open for six 

 weeks. The exhibits will comprise internal-combustion 

 engines, air-compressors, electrical apparatus, motor-cars. 

 &c. Particulars of the prospective arrangements may be 

 obtained from the sole honorary representative in this 

 country — Dr. P. Dvorkovitz, 1 Broad Street Place, E.C. 



Dr. R. Karsten, lecturer in comparative religion in the 

 University of Helsingfors, has started on an expedition to 

 Gran Chaco and Bolivia for the purpose of making in- 

 vi stigations on the sociology and religion of various tribes 

 of natives, some of whom are little known, while others 

 have never been visited. He will be accompanied by his 

 rousin, O. Lindholm. 



M. G. Favet, of the Paris Observatory, has been 

 appoint , ;it the Nice Observatory, in succession 



to M. Simonin. 



Mr. Marconi lias been elected president of thi Junior 

 Institution of Engineers in succession to Sir J. J. 

 I homson, F.R.S. 



Mr. J. J. Nock has been appointed by the Secretary of 

 Stati for tht felonies, on the recommendati 

 Kew authorities, curator of the Hakgala Gard , Ce; 



The 1 of tin International Sai ' ei em 1 



ions of the convention of e 

 prevention of tin invasion and pro 



is to take place in Paris on Octobei n 



\ CONFERENCE of members of the Museums 

 and Oil ed is to take place in the Free Public 



Museums, Livi 1 pool, on Wednesday 1 1 



being to discuss subjects of interest to those concerned in 

 the work of museums. 



Prof. Luigi Carnera, hitherto the director of the inter- 

 national Latitude stations at Carloforte and Oncativo, has 



