XXXV POLITICAL, SOCIAL, LITERARY 165 



the Committee eventually fell on Mr. Herbert 

 Spencer, though not without some little searchings 

 of heart, of a nature which is indicated by this 

 letter of Mr. Lecky's : 



38 Onslow Gardens, S.W., 

 Saturday, Jan. 18/02. 



Dear Lokd Avebury — ^Would you excuse me for 

 troubling you with a few lines about the Nobel Prize ? 

 I declined to join the Committee for electing Candidates 

 for it, in the first place because I am at present at 

 Torquay for my health (I return to London on Monday), 

 and in the next place because I had more work on my 

 hands than I can manage, and I assumed that I should 

 then have nothing more to say to the matter. I have 

 however received an urgent notification from the 

 Society of Authors asking me to vote without delay 

 and suggesting Herbert Spencer as their Candidate. 

 Would you tell me whether this is the unanimous re- 

 commendation of your Committee, or at all events 

 whether it has your approval ? I suppose the First 

 Principles may be said to have " an idealistic tendency," 

 though I am not very clear about what that means. 

 I don't think any of his other works can be said to 

 have it. I have not been following carefully the Nobel 

 question, but I was under the impression that the 

 prize was to be awarded to a work recently published ; 

 and the First Principles appeared I suppose half a 

 century ago. I have a great admiration for Herbert 

 Spencer (though I should never have thought of him 

 as an idealist) and should be glad to do anything I 

 could for him — and I cannot think of any important 

 English work of an " idealistic tendency " that has 

 lately appeared ; but I am a good deal perplexed about 

 what to do, and if my vote is not particularly wanted 

 I should be rather inclined to do nothing. — Yours very 

 sincerely, W. H. Lecky. 



Mr. Lecky accordingly withheld his vote, 

 but Mr. Herbert Spencer was nominated by the 

 Committee, notwithstanding, and rephed, with 

 much appreciation of the honour : 



