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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



assigned for the desire to hear Prof. 

 Huxley, as he never experiments. His 

 chosen department of science is one of 

 the most difficult, and the questions he 

 discusses are profound. Undoubtedly 

 in the great movement of thought in 

 this age Prof. Huxley's topics are prom- 

 inent, and many agencies have con- 

 spired to give them wide public inter- 

 est; but we have to reckon Huxley's 

 genius as one among the potent forces 

 that in recent years have determined 

 this course of public thought. Thus far 

 we on this side know him only as a 

 writer, and his remarkable powers in 

 this respect are so well understood 

 that nothing need be said about them 

 here. But his accomplishments as a 

 lecturer are quite equal to those dis- 

 played in his books. Said a distin- 

 guished English scientist the other day, 

 who had come over as a Centennial 

 juror: "And so Huxley is to be with 

 you, and is going to lecture. Well, 

 those w T ho hear him will have a treat, 

 for as a scientific lecturer he is un- 

 equaled. Next to John Bright I re- 

 gard Huxley as the best orator in Eng- 

 land ; at any rate, in exposition, in eluci- 

 dating a complex subject before a pop- 

 ular audience, we have no man to com- 

 pare with him." Prof. Huxley's man- 

 ner as a speaker is very quiet, and by 

 those who like the vehement and de- 

 monstrative style it would be considered 

 tame, but his discourse is clear, finished, 

 deliberate, and strong. Nor, is it nec- 

 essary that he should have a learned 

 auditory to appreciate and enjoy his 

 addresses. His command of his sub- 

 ject, of language and illustration, is so 

 complete that he adapts himself with 

 rare facility to the mental condition of 

 his hearers. One of the most success- 

 ful efforts we ever witnessed upon the 

 platform was a lecture on physical ge- 

 ography given by Huxley to the work- 

 ing-men of London who filled to its 

 last corner the large lecture-room of 

 the Jermyn Street School of Mines. 

 We had heard him before on ethnology 



at one of the "Friday evenings" of 

 the Eoyal Institution before the elite 

 of scientific London. It was an ad- 

 mirable discourse, and was listened to 

 with the keenest attention and a lively 

 pleasure, though how much of its suc- 

 cess might be due to the cultivated 

 character of the assemblage it was not 

 then easy to say. But his Jermyn Street 

 audience consisted of unlettered, hard- 

 handed working-men, and yet there 

 was not one among them that did not 

 follow the speaker understandingly and 

 with evidently as great enjoyment as 

 the most cultured listeners. Prof. 

 Huxley will be sure to please his Amer- 

 ican audiences, and, considering how 

 much good he might do us, it is unfor- 

 tunate that he cannot stay longer and 

 speak in our chief cities. In the short 

 course of lectures which he has con- 

 sented to deliver in New York he will 

 take up a subject which has long oc- 

 cupied him, upon which he is an au- 

 thority, and which is certain to be 

 treated in a manner that will gratify 

 all who have the good fortune to 

 listen to him. We announced last 

 month that the lectures will take place 

 on the 18th, 20th, and 22d of Septem- 

 ber, and that those desiring to secure 

 seats could do so by registering their 

 applications with D. Appleton & Co. 

 The seats have been rapidly taken, and, 

 as there is only a certain number of 

 them, we must again remind those 

 whom it may concern that when they 

 are all bespoken no more can be had 

 for love or money. 



LITERARY NOTICES. 



The American Cyclopedia : A Popular 

 Dictionary of General Knowledge. Edit- 

 ed by George Ripley and Charles A. 

 Dana. 16 vols., 13,314 pages. Price 

 (cloth), $80. 



This Cyclopaedia, the first edition of 

 which was completed in 1863, having proved 

 its adaptation to the general wants by a 

 very extensive sale, has now undergone 

 complete revision, and, while preserving its 



