A STUDENT'S REMINISCENCES OF HUXLEY. 31 



sense of form, his eyes were heavily overhung by a projecting 

 forehead and eyebrows, and seemed at times to look inward. 

 His lips were firm and closely set, with the expression of posi- 

 tiveness, and the other feature which most marked him was 

 the very heavy mass of hair falling over his forehead, which he 

 would frequently stroke or toss back. Occasionally he would 

 lighten up the monotony of anatomical description by a bit of 

 humor. I remember one instance which was probably reminis- 

 cent of his famous tilt with Bishop Wilberforce at the meeting 

 of the British Association in 1860. Huxley was describing 

 the mammalian heart, and had just distinguished between the 

 tricuspid valve on the right side of the heart and the bicuspid 

 valve on the left, which you know resembles a bishop's miter, 

 and hence is known as the mitral valve. He said, " It is not 

 easy to recall on which side these respective valves are found, 

 but I recommend this rule : you can easily remember that the 

 mitral is on the left, because a bishop is never known to be on 

 the right." 



Huxley was the father of modern laboratory instruction ; but 

 in 1879 ne was so intensely engrossed with his own researches 

 that he very seldom came through the laboratory, which was 

 ably directed by T. Jeffrey Parker, assisted by Howes and 

 W. Newton Parker, all of whom are now professors, Howes 

 having succeeded to Huxley's chair. Each visit, therefore, 

 inspired a certain amount of terror, which was really unwar- 

 ranted, for Huxley always spoke in the kindest tones to his 

 students, although sometimes he could not resist making fun 

 at their expense. There was an Irish student who sat in front 

 of me, whose anatomical drawings in water color were certainly 

 most remarkable productions. Huxley, in turning over his 

 drawing-book, paused at a large blur, under which was carefully 

 inscribed, "sheeps' liver," and smilingly said, " I am glad to 

 know that is a liver ; it reminds me as much of Cologne 

 cathedral in a fog as of anything I have ever seen before." 

 Fortunately the nationality of the student enabled him to fully 

 appreciate the humor. 



The greatest event in the winter of 1879 was Darwin's first 

 and only visit to the laboratory. They came in together, 



