Winter in (lie I 351 



for Folkestone and Boulogne at 10.30. (lot here, and 

 found it leaves at 1.40. Spencer had erred a week in his 

 consultation of the tables. He came all the way over 

 here to get a revised table, and then read it wrong. He 

 has a cold and a little sore throat, and slept last night with a 

 respirator on, by which he breathes through a mass of wire 

 gauze like a regenerator in a caloric engine. He wears it 

 all the time now. He was awfully cut up about the stu- 

 pidity of his proceeding, which will work in my favour in 

 future. It is quite providential. He was not disposed to 

 leave me alone here for three hours, but I just bullied 

 him to go to the Athenaeum Club, which is close by, and 

 toast his shins by a warm fire, get a good hot lunch, and 

 then come here just in time to leave. We get into Paris at 

 11.20 P.M. Bailliere, Alglave, and Ribot are to breakfast 

 with us to-morrow morning, and Ribot has engaged places 

 for to-morrow night's train for Marseilles. 1 groped my 

 way over to Macmillan's, got the last number of Nature, 

 and a phrase book for French. Then went to Williams & 

 Norgate, and had a good chat with Williams, who is a very 

 nice man, and has Spencer's books in special charge. He 

 spoke very warmly about my coming, and said it was of 

 great moment to Spencer, whose whole trouble is with his 

 spirits. I have something very interesting to say to you 

 about his forthcoming work, but must postpone it now. 



HYERES, FRANCE, December 24, 1878. 



DEAR SISTER: I said I should write a history of our 

 tour, but it will never be written, because such experiences 

 as we have had cannot be written. The Mediterranean 

 was a priori to Spencer, and I hope all his philosophy is not 

 like it, for results do not accord with predictions. We had 

 a great time getting here, our two portmanteaus costing 

 us more trouble than we could get in America out of the 

 movement of ten trunks to Winona ; we were chasing and 

 waiting for parties who could not understand us at Bou- 



