12 Thomas Henry Huxley 



museum of natural history containing a collection of 

 considerable importance slowly gathered from the gifts 

 of sailors and officers. The museum curator was an 

 enthusiastic naturalist, and Huxley must have had the 

 opportunity of extending his knowledge of at least the 

 external characters of many forms of life hitherto un- 

 known to him. A few years later, the curator of the 

 nuiseum, with the help of two of Huxley's succes.sors, 

 published a Manual of Natural History for the Use of 

 Traveller's, and it is certain that Huxley at least did 

 not lose at Haslar any of the enthusiasm for zoology 

 with which he had been inspired at the Charing Cross 

 Hospital. The chief of the hospital was Sir John 

 Richardson, an excellent naturalist, and well known 

 as an arctic explorer. He seems to have recognised 

 the peculiar ability of his young assistant, and al- 

 though he was a silent, reserved man, who seldom 

 encouraged his assistants by talking to them, he made 

 several attempts to obtain a suitable post for Huxley. 

 Such a post was that of surgeon to H.M.S. Rattlesnake, 

 then about to start under the command of Captain 

 Owen Stanley for surveying work in the Torres Straits. 

 Captain Stanley had expressed a wish for a surgeon 

 who knew something of science, and, on the recom- 

 mendation of Sir John Richardson, obtained the post 

 for Huxley. There was, however, to be a special nat- 

 uralist attached to the expeditiou, but Huxley had the 

 opportunity he wanted. After a brief stay of seven 

 months at the Haslar Hospital he left it for his ship, 

 and thus definitely entered on his work in the world. 



