1894 BRITISH ASSOCIATION AT OXFORD 



Huxley's last public appearance was at the meeting of the 

 British Association at Oxford. He had been very urgently in- 

 vited to attend, for, exactly a quarter of a century before, the 

 Association had met at Oxford, and Huxley had had his famous 

 encounter with Bishop Wilberforce. It was felt that the anni- 

 versary would be an historic one, and incomplete without his 

 presence, and so it proved to be. Huxley's especial duty was to 

 second the vote of thanks for the Marquis of Salisbury's address 

 one of the invariable formalities of the opening meetings of 

 the Association. The meeting proved to be the greatest one in 

 the history of the Association. The Sheldonian Theatre was 

 packed with one of the most distinguished scientific audiences 

 ever brought together, and the address of the Marquis was 

 worthy of the occasion. The whole tenor of it was unknown in 

 science. Passing from the unsolved problems of astronomy, 

 chemistry, and physics, he came to biology. With delicate irony 

 he spoke of the " comforting word, evolution," and passing to 

 the Weismannian controversy, implied that the diametrically 

 opposed views so frequently expressed nowadays threw the 

 whole process of evolution into doubt. It was only too evident 

 that the Marquis himself found no comfort in evolution, and 

 even entertained a suspicion as to its probability. It was well 

 worth the whole journey to Oxford to watch Huxley during this 

 portion of the address. In his red doctor-of-laws gown, placed 

 upon his shoulders by the very body of men who had once re- 

 ferred to him as " a Mr. Huxley," he sank deeper into his chair 

 upon the very front of the platform and restlessly tapped his 

 foot. His situation was an unenviable one. He had to thank 

 an ex-Prime Minister of England and present Chancellor of 

 Oxford University for an address, the sentiments of which were 

 directly against those he himself had been maintaining for 

 twenty-five years. He said afterwards that when the proofs of 

 the Marquis's address were put into his hands the day before, 

 he realised that he had before him a most delicate and difficult 

 task. Lord Kelvin (Sir William Thomson) one of the most 

 distinguished living physicists, first moved the vote of thanks, 

 but his reception was nothing to the tremendous applause which 

 greeted Huxley in the heart of that University whose cardinal 

 principles he had so long been opposing. Considerable anxiety 

 had been felt by his friends lest his voice should fail to fill the 

 theatre, for it had signally failed during his Romanes Lecture 

 delivered in Oxford the year before, but when Huxley arose he 

 reminded you of a venerable gladiator returning to the arena 



