HI SCIENCE AND PSEUDO-SCIENCE 123 



acquaintance with him ! " My alarm and horror 

 at the supposition that, while I had been fiddling 

 (or at any rate physicking), my beloved Rome 

 had been burning, in this fashion, may be 

 imagined. 



I am sure the Duke of Argyll will be glad to 

 hear that the anxiety he created was of extremely 

 short duration. It is my privilege to have access 

 to the best sources of information, and nobody in 

 the scientific world can tell me anything about 

 either the " Reign of Terror " or " the Revolt." 

 In fact, the scientific world laughs most inde- 

 corously at the notion of the existence of either ; 

 and some are so lost to the sense of the scientific 

 dignity, that they descend to the -use of trans- 

 atlantic slang, and call it a " bogus scare." As to 

 my friend Mr. Herbert Spencer, I have every 

 reason to know that, in the " Factors of Organic 

 Evolution," he has said exactly what was in his 

 mind, without any particular deference to the 

 opinions of the person whom he is pleased to 

 regard as his most dangerous critic and Devil's 

 Advocate-General, and still less of any one else. 



I do not know whether the Duke of Argyll 

 picture's himself as the Tallien of this imaginary 

 revolt against a no less imaginary Reign of Terror. 

 But if so, I most respectfully but firmly decline 

 to join his forces. It is only a few weeks since I 

 happened to read over again the first article 

 which I ever wrote (now twenty-seven years ago) 



