1895 HIS LAST ILLNESS 361 



and in his weakened state, renal mischief ensued. 



Yet he held out splendidly, never giving in, save for 



one hour of utter prostration, all through this weary 



length of sickness. His first recovery strengthened 



him in expecting to get well from the second 



attack. And on June 10 he writes brightly enough 



to Sir J. D. Hooker : — 



HoDESLEA, Eastbourne, 

 June 10, 1895. 



My dear Old Friend — It was cheering to get your 

 letter and to hear that you had got through winter and 

 diphtheria without scathe. 



I can't say very much for myself yet, but I am 

 carried down to a tent in the garden every day, and 

 live in the fresh air all I can. The thing that keeps 

 me back is an irritability of the stomach tending to the 

 rejection of all solid food. However, I think I am 

 slowly getting the better of it — thanks to my constitu- 

 tional toughness and careful nursing and dieting. 



What has S2:)encer been trampling on the " Pour le 

 merite " for, when he accepted the Lyncei ? I was just 

 writing to congratulate him when, by good luck, I saw 

 he had refused ! 



The beastly nausea which comes on when I try to do 

 anything warns me to stop. 



With our love to you both — Ever yours, 



T. H. Huxley. 



The last time I saw him was on a visit to 

 Eastbourne from June 22-24. I was astonished to 

 find how well he looked in spite of all ; thin, indeed, 

 but browned with the endless sunshine of the .1895 

 summer as he sat every day in the verandah. His 

 voice was still fairly strong ; he was delighted to see 



