X INTRODUCTION 



of twenty-six solely for the m^rit of his work. His head 

 was not turned, however, for he kept steadily at work, 

 completing the investigations begun on the Rattlesnake. 

 .•\I1 of this labor took much time and brought him little 

 direct profit. But he was meeting many men prominent 

 in many lines of scientific work and was filled with hope. 

 He wrote to his sister: ' ' So fair a prospect opens out before 

 me if I can only wait. I am beginning to know what 

 work means, and see how much more may be done by 

 steady, unceasing, and well-directed efforts. I thrive upon 

 it too." 



In spite of his brave spirit, this was a desperate time of 

 waiting, but in 1854 the uncomfortable period came to 

 an end. In this year, having resolved to earn a living 

 by writing and lecturing on science, Huxley resigned from 

 the Navy. This step taken, Fortune seemed to smile 

 upon him, for the Royal Society allowed him a temporary 

 grant to publish his long-deferred papers. In a few muni^h^ 

 when his friend Edward Forbes accepted a position in the 

 University of Edinburgh, Huxley was appointed to succeed 

 him in a post with the Geological Survey and as lecturer 

 on Natural History at the Royal School of Mines. These 

 appointments gave Huxley an income and the permanency 

 in London he had so long desired. In 1855 he married 

 Miss Heathorn, whom he had met in Sydney in 1847 ^^^ 

 whom he had not seen since his ship had sailed from Aus- 

 tralian waters in 1850. 



During the next few years Huxley was incessantly busy 

 writing and lecturing. He established courses of lectures 

 to workingmen w^hich proved very valuable and exceed- 

 ingly popular. No small element, no doubt, in the pop- 

 ularity of these lectures lay in their careful preparation. 

 For Huxley's ideal was high,* and he thoroughly fortified 



