84 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch. 



Defence Association. On this he and Mr. Tritton 

 the Treasurer, who agreed with him, thought it 

 necessary to resign their positions. Lord Farrer 

 then urged them to withdraw their resignations. 

 This they dechned to do, though intimating that 

 if re-elected they would be happy to act. There- 

 upon Lord Farrer himself proposed them, they were 

 unanimously re-elected, and so the incident " ends 

 happily." 



In 1898 the International Zoological Congress 

 had arranged to hold the annual meeting at Cam- 

 bridge, and Sir W. H. Flower, President of the 

 Zoological Society, and Head of the Natural 

 History Museum, had been elected President. 

 His health, however, unfortunately broke down, 

 and the feeling of responsibility was pressing 

 heavily on him. 



In November he writes to Sir John : 



26 Stanhope Gardens, S.W., 

 November 2nd, 1897. 



My dear Lubbock — I am in a great difficulty, and 

 you are the only man who can help me out of it, so I 

 appeal to your goodness and old friendship. 



About two years ago the International Zoological 

 Congress, when deciding at the meeting at Leiden to 

 come next year to England, asked me to take the office 

 of President, which I consented to do, though much 

 against my wish, as I thought that there were others in 

 the country better qualified. 



Since then, things have changed with me, and my 

 medical advisers, while encouraging me to go on with 

 the Museum work, if I can take it quietly, and which I 

 am most anxious to do, say that I can only do it, on 

 condition of doing nothing else, especially any work 

 involving presiding and speaking at public meetings. 



They had a consultation yesterday and absolutely 

 prohibited my undertaking the Presidency of the 

 Congress, as, if I am going on as I am now, I must take 



