DARWINISM AND VIVISECTION 229 



day he was convinced of the iniquity of the thing, 

 and began his campaign against it, he never rested 

 under it, not even up to the very last days of his 

 life. But few knew the extent of his labour in de- 

 fence of the dumb animals against those who so 

 horribly experimented upon them, as well as the 

 perseverance, determination, and deep earnestness 

 with which he carried on his contest. He always 

 preferred to call a spade by its best-known and 

 knowable name, and for the word vivisection he 

 thought it better to use the plainer term, " experi- 

 ments on living animals." As a matter of course 

 he was altogether and heartily at one with those 

 societies that made for the total suppression of 

 vivisection, and those only. In October 1878 he 

 wrote in these words to the Home Chronicler : 



" In common, I am sure, with many others, I have 

 been truly glad and thankful indeed to hear that the 

 Victoria Street Association have now seen that there 

 can be no truce with the experimenters, and that 

 not one of them can be trusted. About a year ago 

 Miss Cobbe did me the honour of writing to me to 

 ask me to join her Society ; but I was obliged to tell 

 her that that could not be so long as they went in 

 for half-measures only. Now, however, that, as it 

 appears, they are of one mind with us, the only 

 question is, What is to be done ? and it does seem 

 to me that the union of the two associations in 

 one is most desirable and loudly called for. I 

 would at once have said, if they desired that we 

 should join with them, by all means let it be 



