The sun., 1909-01-10

Of chin to the lower jaw. which is very
strong, &c.
This head is nevertheless human; it ID
distinctly superior to that OF one OF the
highest apes-for example, the ohm
panzee-but IL is no less clearly inferior
10 that OF any human type OF the pressn,
epoch, We know moreover by the Oh
jects found with his skeleton that the man
OF Chapelle-aux-Saints so primitive from
a physical point OF view, was also very
primitive from an intellectual point Of
view. His implements and weapons must
have been merely pieces of wood and
some roughly worked stones.
Prof. Boule thinks that the man lived
at least 10000 yeurs ago. and he adds that a
much higher figure would probably be
much nearer the truth Does the fossil
confirm the theory that man is descended
from the ape is another question Prof.
difficult to answer. .... .
"1he question Is badly worded, " he say g.
"for natura lists do not recognize the
ape but apes. many OF which difier
considerably from one another. The
highest apes. called anthropoids, cannot
be considered either as our ancestors
or our brothers; they are at the most
very distant cousins. Their own an
cestors may have been the brothers of
mans ancestors.
! THE question then is il there were in
geological ages beings which presented
characteristics intermediary between the
anthropoid group and the human group
At the present time It has often been said
and with reason that there is an
abyss between the highest apes. like the
chimpanzee. and the lowest men, for sx-
ample the aboriginal Australians; but
it seems clear that archaeological dis
coveries are lessening this abyss. ...
"In this respect the pithecanthropoid
OF Java on one side and the Correze
fossil man on the other seem to me 70
have the greatest possible value demon
stratively. Man himself then does not
escape the general law Of the evolution
Of beings. which is essentially Q law Of
progress. His animal origin seems less
and less questionable.
] Nearly a million and half OF the readers
OF the Petit Pdrisier have been casting
votes for the ten most useful animals
/ The horse. the COW and the dog head the
! list with a fairly equal poll. each over
/ I 200. 900; the hen and the OF follow. each
/ over ZOO. 600; the pig. the ram. the camel.
! the eve and the bee make up the list Of
the ten with 900 900 TO 10000
sixty animals had been named as can
didates by the newspapers. The results
show the strength Of traditional opin-
ions.
Recollections OF stories Of faithful
pomp and glory Of war. place the horse
at the top Of the roll. rather than his abso-
lutte utility as compared with the COW.
His humble cousin the ass only reached
the twelfth place. following their step
brother the mule. eleventh.
The utility OF the camel to the French
nation is not very apparent, although
its meat has appeared in butchers shops
this Christmas. The French use the
word chdmeau (cameD often enough
but only as an epithet. when they want
to call some one clumsy lout,' Per-
haps its utility in it's native home was
taken into account. but in that case the
reindeer ought to have got a higher posi-
ton than twenty third.
The dog was third, the oat was fif-
teenth, result that will surprise nobody
Who knows this country. whore dogs are
petted and cats neglected.
Fish made a bad showing. the cod
sixteenth. the herring twenty eighth
the sartiine twenty-ninth.
The new management OF the Opera
cannot complain lat its first year has
been wanting in variety. The crisis
which eliminated in Messager's resig-
nation has been turned and the libel
suit against newspaper which VEN
tured to say that the managers we're
not exactly of one mind has been with
drawn. Economy il the order OF the
day, and one Of It's first victims is Alvarez.
who after seventeen years at the Opera
has received notice that his contract
will not be renewed.
Now a new trouble has to he faced.
a. AIaeterlinck has in due and legal form
forbidden the Opera TO produce 'Monna
Wanna" under penalty Of S2 900 for each
performance.
This step is the outcome Of difference
that has arisen between Maeterlinck and
NJ. Fevrier, who has written the music
for the opera. Fevrier's side Of the quar-
e 10 briefly this: He agrees that when.
NJ. Maeterlinck authorized him to set
-Monna Wanna to music both OF them
had the Opera Comique in mind as the
scene for it's production; but when his
work was done he was unable to get NJ.
Carre, the director of the Opera Coniique.
to give him a hearing At the end Of
November Of last year NJ. Messenger in !
Hrmed him that the Opera was ready to
accept his work on condition that the
reply reached him by December in time
for the publication Of the seasons pro- |
gramme. He telegraphed NJ. Maeter-
linck, got no reply. and as time was press
ing he in the interests Of librettist and
composer gave the work to NJ Messenger.
NJ. Maeterlinck on his side says that
from the beginning "Monna Wanna" was
destined for the Opera Comique and that |
in no case was il to 60 To the Opera. where I
the vast stage would be out Of keeping
with the small number Of characters !
needt d in the opera.
The quarrel seems to hinge on the
,,ues,ion yhether a collaboration can dis 4