Herbert Spencer. 9 



though the library and study rooms afford facilities for work 

 he rarely uses them for that purpose, his hours at the Club 

 being devoted to relaxation and recreation. Billiards con- 

 stitute his favorite amusement, and he generally is found, 

 with his coat off, in the room assigned for that sport, when 

 the visitor sends the hall-boy to seek him. Whether he 

 plays well, or ill, I do not know ; but such men are not apt 

 to make a failure of anything they attempt, and it is cred- 

 itable to be excellent in billiards if one chooses to play the 

 game. Besides, if one is able to win, it is usually a saving 

 of expense ! 



Mr. Spencer is a ready conversationalist, very accurate 

 and exact in his expressions. As Dr. Hooker once said to 

 Professor Youmans, "He talks like a book." This charac- 

 teristic does not strike one as pedantry, and is by no means 

 unpleasant, though it puts the interlocutor on his guard re- 

 specting carelessness in his own words. He is at home on 

 all topics of current interest, as well as on those specially 

 appertaining to his studies. He is a keen critic, but not 

 censorious, nor does he seem to entertain or cherish animos- 

 ities. Nevertheless he is very combative ; too much so for 

 his own good. He is fond of striking back at his critics, 

 and has more than once turned aside from his work to take 

 notice of strictures upon his views, when there was little 

 utility in so doing. His controversy with Frederick Harri- 

 son is a case in point. However interesting this may be to 

 readers, it after all seems a waste of words. The position 

 of neither thinker was made any clearer, nor was either 

 converted by the other. Nor, I presume, was any one else 

 converted by either, while much of Mr. Spencer's supreme- 

 ly valuable time was consumed in preparing the letters. 

 The latter has that genuinely British trait of character which 

 causes a man to stand up for his rights, and to resist what 

 he deems aggression. Prof. Youmans says he was a dis- 

 obedient boy sometimes, and that he never would stand bul- 

 lying at school. No more will he stand it in the journals 

 and reviews. His sensitiveness to invasions upon his per- 

 sonality subjected him to sore trials upon his visit to 

 America. Prof. Youmans, however, managed him well, 

 and was a happy mediator between the sick man who want- 

 ed to be let alone, and the impatient public anxious to see 

 and hear the philosopher they henored. The interviewer's 

 attempts were disagreeable, persistence in proffered hospi- 



