256 LITE OF PROFESSOR HUXLEY chap, x 



ceptional honour for science, over and above any 

 recognition of his personal services, which he thought 

 amply met by the Civil List pension specially con- 

 ferred upon him as an honour at his retirement from 

 the public service, Huxley was no little vexed at an 

 article in Nature for August 25 (vol. xlvi. p. 397), 

 reproaching the Government for allowing him to 

 leave the public service six years before, without 

 recognition. Accordingly he Avrote to Sir J. Donnelly 

 on August 27 : — 



It is very unfair to both Liberal and Conservative 

 Governments, who did much more for me than I expected, 

 and I feel that I ought to contradict the statement 

 without loss of time. 



So I have written the inclosed letter for publication 

 in Nature. But as it is always a delicate business to 

 meddle with official matters, I wish you would see if I 

 have said anything more than I ought to say in the 

 latter half of the letter. If so, please strike it out, and 

 let the first haK go. 



I had a narrow shave to get down to Osborne and 

 kiss hands on Thursday. What a quaint ceremony it is ! 



The humour of the situation was that we three hot 

 Unionists, White Ridley, Jesse Collings, and I, were 

 escorted by the whole Gladstonian household. 



And again on August 30 : — 



In the interview I had with Lord ' Salisbury on the 

 su.bject of an order of merit — ages ago ^ — I expressly 

 gave him to understand that I considered myself out of 

 the running — having already received more than I had 

 any right to expect. And when lie has gone out of his 



1 See p. 23. 



