1854 VISIT TO LIVERPOOL 165 



Forbes, who was eager that Huxley should join him 

 in Edinburgh. 



TENBY, SOUTH WALES, Sept. 3, 1854. 



I have been here since the middle of August getting 

 rid of my yellow face and putting on a brown one, 

 banishing dyspepsias and hypochondrias and all such 

 other town afflictions to the four winds, and rejoicing 

 exceedingly that I ain out of the way of that pest, the 

 cholera, which is raging just at present in London. 



After I had arranged to come here to do a lot of work 

 of my own which can only be done by the seaside, our 

 Director, Sir Henry de la Beche, 1 gave me a special 

 mission of his own whereby I have the comfort of 

 having my expenses paid, but at the same time get it 

 it taken out of me in additional labour, so my recreation 

 is anything but leisure. 



Oct. 14. 



I left this place for a week's trip to Liverpool in the 

 end of September. The meeting of the British Associa- 

 tion was held there, but I went not so much to be present 

 as to meet Forbes, with whom I wanted to talk over many 

 matters concerning us both. Forbes had a proposition 

 that I should go to Edinburgh to take part of the duties 

 of the Professor of Physiology there, who is in bad health, 

 with the ultimate aim of succeeding to the chair. It was 

 a tempting offer made in a flattering manner, and present- 

 ing a prospect of considerably better emolument than my 

 special post, but it had the disadvantage of being but an 

 uncertain position. Had I accepted, I should have been 

 at the mercy of the actual Professor and that is a position 

 I don't like standing in, even with the best of men, and 

 had he died or resigned at any time the Scotch chairs are 



1 1796-1855. His idea of a Geological Survey based on the 

 Ordnance Survey was taken up by Government in 1832. To his 

 initiative also was due the Museum of Practical Geology in Jermyn 

 Street, and later the School of Mines. 



