1874 PROPOSED BOOK ON HUME 149 



me very diffident in trusting myself. Unless I had seen 

 it, I could not have believed in the evidence of any one 

 with such perfect bona fides as Mr. Y being so worthless." 



On receiving this report Mr. Darwin wrote (Life, 

 ii. p. 188) : 



Though the stance did tire you so much, it was, I 

 think, really worth the exertion, as the same sort of 

 things are done at all the seances . . - . and now to my 

 mind an enormous weight of evidence would be requisite 

 to make me believe in anything beyond mere trickery. 



The following letter to Mr. Morley, then editor of 

 the Fortnightly Seview, shows that my father was 

 already thinking of writing upon Hume, though he 

 did not carry out this intention till 1878. 



The article referred to in the second letter is that 

 on Animals as Automata. 



4 MARLBOROUGH PLACE, N.W., 

 June 4, 1874. 



MY DEAR MR. MORLEY I assure you that it was a 

 great disappointment to me not to be able to visit you, 

 but we had an engagement of some standing for Oxford. 



Hume is frightfully tempting I thought so only the 

 other day when I saw the new edition advertised and 

 now I would gladly write about him in the Fortnightly 

 if I were only sure of being able to keep any engagement 

 to that effect I might make. 



But I have yet a course of lectures before me, and an 

 evening discourse to deliver at the British Association 

 to say nothing of opening the Manchester Medical School 

 in October and polishing off a lot of scientific work. 

 So you see I have not a chance of writing about Hume 

 for months to come, and you had much better not trust 

 to such a very questionable reed as I am. Ever yours 

 very faithfully, T. H. HUXLEY. 



