184 LIFE OF PROFESSOR HUXLEY CHAP, xi 



itself, he was greatly invigorated. His renewed strength 

 enabled him to carry out vigorously such work as he had 

 put his hand to, and still more, to endure one of the greatest 

 sorrows of his whole life which was to befall him this 

 autumn in the death of his daughter Marian. 



The controversy which fell to his share immediately upon 

 his return, has already been mentioned (p. 168). This was 

 all part of the war for science which he took as his neces- 

 sary portion in life ; but he would not plunge into any other 

 forms of controversy, however interesting. So he writes 

 to his son, who had conveyed him a message from the 

 editor of a political review : 



4 MARLBOROUGH PLACE, Oct. 19, 1887. 



No political article from me ! I have had to blow off my 

 indignation incidentally now and then lest worse might befall 

 me, but as to serious political controversy, I have other fish to 

 fry. Such influence as I possess may be most usefully employed 

 in promoting various educational movements now afoot, and 

 I do not want to bar myself from working with men of all 

 political parties. 



So excuse me in the prettiest language at your command 

 to Mr. A. 



Nevertheless politics very soon drew him into a new 

 conflict, in defence, be it said, of science against the possi- 

 ble contamination of political influences. Prof, (now Sir) 

 G. G. Stokes, his successor in the chair of the Royal Society, 

 accepted an invitation from the University of Cambridge to 

 stand for election as their member of Parliament, and was 

 duly elected. This was a step to which many Fellows of 

 the Royal Society, and Huxley in especial, objected very 

 strongly. Properly to fulfil the duties of both offices at 

 once was, in his opinion, impossible. It might seem for the 

 moment an advantage that the accredited head of the sci- 

 entific world should represent its interests officially in Par- 

 liament ; but the precedent was full of danger. Science being 

 essentially of no party, it was especially needful for such 

 a representative of science to keep free from all possible 

 entanglements ; to avoid committing science, as it were, offi- 

 cially to the policy of a party, or, as its inevitable conse- 



