BIOGRAPHICAL (1854-1870) 29 



had on hand it was impossible for him to continue 

 his interest in it. Thus in 1863 he ceased to be a 

 contributor, and two years later the Beview ceased 

 pubhcation. 



In 1860 there fell upon him the sad blow of the 

 death of his little son, which was followed by a pro- 

 longed illness of his wife's. This sad bereavement 

 brought him a long letter from Charles Kingsley — a 

 letter of such touching sympathy that it drew forth 

 from Huxley a reply which his son describes as " a 

 rare outburst at a moment of intense feeUng, in which, 

 more completely than in almost any other language 

 of his, intellectual clearness and moral fire are to be 

 seen uniting in veritable passion for truth." The 

 letter itself is surely one of the most beautiful, as 

 well as one of the most remarkable, ever penned in 

 the English language. It displays the naked soul of 

 one of the greatest of Englishmen, and lets one into 

 the depths of his wonderful mind in a way that is 

 as rare as it is remarkable. To quote any portions 

 of the letter without the whole would be to do it in- 

 justice. It is an epitome of Huxley's creed, and it 

 should be read from beginning to end by every one 

 who wishes to gain a real grasp of what Huxley 

 actually thought. (The letter will be found on page 

 13, Volume I., of the Life and Letters of Tlwmas Henry 

 Huxley. By Leonard Huxley. Macmillan & Co.) 



In March 1861 — that is, the following year — his wife 

 still being in very weak health, she and the children 

 spent a fortnight with Darwin, Huxley himself visit- 

 ing them there. But, in spite of this and other 

 changes, Mrs. Huxley's recovery to health was ex- 

 tremely slow, and, partly with a view of removing 

 her from the scene of her recent sorrow, they changed 



