62 LIFE OF PROFESSOR HUXLEY cHAP. Ill 



when one is worn-out. When Lowe was Chancellor of 

 the Exchequer I had a long talk with him about the 

 affairs of the Nat. Hist. Museum, and I told him that he 

 had better put Flower at the head of it and make me a 

 trustee to back him. Bobby no doubt thought the sug- 

 gestion cheeky, but it is odd that the thing has come 

 about now that I don't care for it, and desire nothing 

 better than to be out of every description of bother and 

 responsibility. 



Have not Lady Hooker and you yet learned that a 

 large country house is of all places the most detestable in 

 cold weather ? The neuralgia was a mild and kindly 

 hint of Providence not to do it again, but I am rejoiced 

 it has vanished. 



Pronouns got mixed somehow. 



With our kindest regards — Ever yours, 



T. H. Huxley. 



More last words : — What little faculty I have has 

 been bestowed on the obituary of Darwin for R.S. lately 

 I Iiave been trying to make it an account of his intel- 

 lectual progress, and I hope it will have some interest. 

 Among other things I have been trying to set out the 

 argument of the " Origin of Species," and reading the 

 book for the ?ith time for that ^lurpose. It is one of the 

 hardest books to understand thoroughly that I know of, 

 and I suppose that is the reason why even people like 

 Romanes get so hopelessly wrong. 



If you don't mind, I should be glad if you would run 

 your eye over the thing when I get as far as the proof 

 stage — Lord knows when that will be. 



A few days later he wrote again on the same 

 subject, after reading the obituary of Asa Gray, the 

 first American supporter of Darwin's theory. 



March 23. — I suppose Dana has sent you his obituary 

 of Asa Gray. 



