254: ORIGIN OF SPECIES. [ch. xiii. 



to join my wife at her brother-in-law's country house near 

 Eeading, on the Saturday. On the Friday I met Chambers 

 in the street, and in reply to some remark of his about the 

 meeting, I said that I did not mean to attend it ; did not 

 see the good of giving up peace and quietness to be episco- 

 pally pounded. Chambers broke out into vehement remon- 

 strances and talked about my deserting them. So I said, 

 " Oh ! if you take it that way, I'll come and have my share 

 of what is going on." 



So I came, and chanced to sit near old Sir Benjamin 

 Broclie. The Bishop began his speech, and, to my as- 

 tonishment, very soon showed that he was so ignorant 

 that he did not know how to manage his own case. My 

 spirits rose proportionally, and when he turned to me 

 with his insolent question, I said to Sir Benjamin, in 

 an undertone, " The Lord hath delivered him into mine 

 hands." 



That sagacious old gentleman stared at me as if I had 

 lost my senses. But, in fact, the Bishop had justified the 

 severest retort I could devise, and I made up my mind to 

 let him have it. I was careful, however, not to rise to 

 reply, until the meeting called for me then I let my- 

 self go. 



In justice to the Bishop, I am bound to say he bore no 

 malice, but was always courtesy itself when we occasionally 

 met in after years. Hooker and I walked away from the 

 meeting together, and 1 remember saying to him that this 

 experience had changed my opinion as to the practical value 

 of the art of public speaking, and that, from that time forth, 

 I should carefully cultivate it, and try to leave off hating it. 

 I did the former, but never quite succeeded in the latter 

 effort. 



I did not mean to trouble you with such a long scrawl 

 when I began about this piece of ancient history. 



Ever yours very faithfully 



T. H. Huxley. 



The eye-witness above quoted (p. 250) continues : 

 " There was a crowded conversazione in the evening at the 

 rooms of the hospitable and genial Professor of Botany, Dr. 

 Daubeny, where the almost sole topic was the battle of the 

 Origin, and I was much struck with the fair and unpreju- 

 diced way in which the black coats and white cravats of 

 Oxford discussed the question, and the frankness with 



