148 Questions and Topics for Study 



distance conversation. Letters are interesting also not only 

 because they contain autobiographical material but because they 

 frequently throw light on the times in which they were 

 written. Huxley's letters serve both of these ends. 



To Miss Heathorn (pages 16-18) 



1. Express in your own language how Huxley felt about the 

 Royal Medal. 



2. How was it the " turning-point " of his life ? 



To Miss Heathorn (pages 18-19) 



1. Does Huxley attempt to tell what happened at the 

 funeral or only what he saw and felt? 



2. Had he been writing an essay instead of a letter, how 

 would he have treated the subject? 



3. Read Tennyson's Ode on the Death of the Duke of 

 Wellington and pick out some of the passages that you think 

 Huxley marked. 



To Miss Heathorn (pages 19-21) 



1. What "three years" does Huxley mean? 



2. What difference between man's love and woman's love 

 does Huxley dwell upon in this letter? 



To Charles Darwin (pages 21-22) 



1. Why is 1859 one of the most significant dates in Huxley's 

 life? 



2. What were the relations between Huxley and Darwin? 



To John Tyndall (pages 22-24) 



1. Which of the first two paragraphs gives you the clearer 

 picture of the scenes described? 



2. Reproduce the picture in your own language. 



3. Explain the reference to Elie de Beaumont. 



