162 LIFE OF PROFESSOR HUXLEY CHAP. VI 



the sake of obtaining a drop of living blood. The living 

 particles which float in that liquid undoubtedly feel as 

 much (or as little) as a frog under the influence of anaes- 

 thetics, or deprived of its brain, does ; and the teacher 

 who shows his pupils the wonderful phenomena exhibited 

 by dying blood, might be charged with gloating over the 

 agonies of the colourless corpuscles, with quite as much 

 justice as I have been charged with inciting boys and 

 girls to cruelty by describing the results of physiological 

 experiments, which they are as likely to attempt as they 

 are to determine the longitude of their schoolroom. 



However, I will not trouble your Lordship with any 

 further indication of the difficulties which, as I imagine, 

 will attend the attempt to carry the Minute into opera- 

 tion, if instruction is to be given in Physiology, or even 

 in general Biology. 



The upshot of the matter was that the Minute 

 was altered so as to refer solely to future courses, 

 and on February 20 he wrote to Mr. Forster : 



I cannot allow you to leave office without troubling 

 you with the expression of my thanks for the very great 

 kindness and consideration which I have received from 

 you on all occasions, and particularly in regard to the 

 question of vivisection, on which I ventured to some 

 extent, though I think not very widely or really, to 

 differ from you. 



The modification which you were good enough to 

 make in your minute removed all my objections to under- 

 taking the Summer Course. 



And I am sure that if that course had happened to 

 be a physiological one I could do all I want to do in the 

 way of experiment, without infringing the spirit of your 

 minute, though I confess that the letter of it would cause 

 me more perplexity. 



