296 LIFE OF PROFESSOR HUXLEY CHAP. XV 



may always hope more from a lady's tender-heartedness 

 than from her sense of justice. 



Publisher has just sent to say that I must give him 

 any corrections for second thousand of my booklet im- 

 mediately. 



Why did not Miss Etty send any critical remarks on 

 that subject by the same post ? I should be most im- 

 mensely obliged for them. Ever yours faithfully, 



T. H. HUXLEY. 



During this period of special work at the anthro- 

 pological side of the Evolution theory, Huxley made 

 two important contributions to the general question. 



As secretary of the Geological Society, the duty 

 of delivering the anniversary address in 1862 fell to 

 him in the absence of the president, Leonard Horner, 

 who had been driven by ill-health to winter in Italy. 



The object at which he aimed appears from the post- 

 script of a brief note of Feb. 19, 1862, to Hooker : 



I am writing the body of the address, and I am going 

 to criticise Palseontological doctrines in general in a way 

 that will flutter their nerves considerable. 



Darwin is met everywhere with Oh this is opposed 

 to palaeontology, or that is opposed to palaeontology 

 and I mean to turn round and ask, " Now, Messieurs 

 les Palaeontologues, what the devil do you really know ? " 



I have not changed sex although the postscript is 

 longer than the letter. 



The delivery of the address 1 itself on February 

 21 is thus described by Sir Charles Lyell 2 (Life and 

 Letters, ii. 356) : 



1 On "Geological Contemporaneity" (Coll. Ess. viii. 292). 



2 To a note of whose, proposing a talk over the subject, Huxley 

 replies on May 5, "I am very glad you find something to think 

 about in my address. That is the best of all praise." 



