1889 ' THE NATURAL INEQUALITY OF MEN ' 137 



sent him a telegram — reply paid — asking him to fix a 

 day. The answer named a day of the week and a 

 day of the month which did not agree ; whereupon 

 Mr. Knowles wrote by the safer medium of the post 

 for an explanation, thinking that the post-office clerks 

 must have bungled the message, and received the 

 following reply : — 



3 Jevinoton Gardens, Eastbourne, 

 Nov. 26, 1889. 



My dear Knowles — May jackasses sit upon the 

 graves of all telegraph clerks ! But the boys are worse, 

 and I shall have to write to the P.-M.-General about the 

 little wretch who brought your telegram the other day, 

 when my mind was deeply absorbed in the concoction of 

 an article for the Review of our age. 



The creature read my answer, for he made me pay 

 three halfpence extra (I believe he spent it on toffy), and 

 yet was so stupid as not to see that meaning to fix next 

 Monday or Tuesday, I opened my diary to give the dates 

 in order that there should be no mistake, and found 

 Monday 28 and Tuesday 29. 



And I suppose the little beast would say he did not 

 know I opened it in October instead of November ! 



I hate such mean ways. Hang all telegraph boys ! — 

 Ever yours very faithfully, T. H. Huxley. 



Monday December 2, if you have nothing against it, 

 and lunch if Mrs. Knowles will give me some. 



The article was finished by the middle of December 

 and duly sent to the editor, under the title of 

 " Eousseau and Rousseauism." But fearing that this 

 title would scarcely attract attention among the 

 working-men for whom it was specially designed, Mr. 



