408 LIFE OF PROFESSOR HUXLEY CHAP. 



social experience, he was always ready to set aside 

 his mere likes and dislikes on good cause shown; 

 to follow reason as against the mere prejudice of 

 custom, even his own. 



Severe he might be on occasion, but never harsh. 

 His idea in bringing up his children was to accustom 

 them as early as possible to a certain amount of 

 independence, at the same time trying to make 

 them regard him as their best friend. 



This aspect of his character is specially touched 

 upon by Sir Leslie Stephen, in a letter written to 

 my mother in July 1895 : — 



No one, I think, could have more cordially admired 

 Huxley's intellectual vigour and unflinching honesty 

 than I. It pleases me to remember that I lately said 

 something of this to him, and that he received what I 

 said most heartily and kindly. But what now dwells 

 most in my mind is the memory of old kindness, and of 

 the days when I used to see him with you and his 

 children. I may safely say that I never came from 

 your house without thinking how good he is ; what a 

 tender and affectionate nature the man has ! It did 

 me good simply to see him. The recollection is sweet 

 to me now, and I rejoice to think how infinitely better 

 you know what I must have been dull indeed not more 

 or less to perceive. 



As he wrote to his son on his twenty-first birth- 

 day :— 



You will have a son some day yourself, I suppose, and 

 if you do, I can wish you no greater satisfaction than to 

 be able to say that he has reached manhood without 



