STANDING FOR PARLIAMENT 79 



I am only a little scratched and bruised. Nelly's cuts 

 are deep and bleed much, but nothing is broken. I fear 

 she must be much shaken. . . . 



It appears to be from this accident that we 

 have to date a long period of ill-health for Lady 

 Lubbock which only terminated with her death. 

 I had not the privilege of knowing her, but a 

 cousin and life-long friend of the first Lady 

 Lubbock writes of her : " Ellen was an im- 

 mense help to John in his early scientific days, 

 she acted quite as a secretary, kept his papers 

 in order, looked up references, did all the diagrams 

 for his lectures. She was an exceptionally 

 charming letter - writer, and kept up all the 

 correspondence with his scientific friends. She 

 wrote a beautiful hand and was a clever, brilliant 

 woman, with the kindest heart and the most 

 genial manner, and made all the friends who 

 came to Lamas (and when the elder Sir John 

 died it was all kept up at High Elms) so welcome 

 and happy that every one felt at ease with her. 

 We used to go on Sunday afternoons to Lamas 

 and sit on the long flight of high steps having 

 delightful talks with Tyndall, Hirst, Huxley, 

 Herbert Spencer, and all the rising scientific 

 men of the day." 



Another friend writes of her as " a charming 

 and clever woman until her life was clouded by 

 bad health." 



Sir John spent an autumn holiday this year in 

 Switzerland with Professor Hirst and Professor 

 Tyndall, being most of the time at Zermatt. 

 On his return he gave a Friday evening lecture 

 at the Royal Institution on the Metamorphosis of 



