1867 LETTER TO DOHRN 419 



visit to England, made my father's acquaintance by 

 accepting his invitation to stay with him "for as long 

 as you can make it convenient to stay " at Swanage, 

 " a little country town with no sort of amusement 

 except what is to be got by walking about a rather 

 pretty country. But having warned you of this, I 

 repeat that it will give me much pleasure to see you 

 if you think it worth while to come so far." 



Dr. Dohrn came, and came into the midst of the 

 family seven children, ranging from ten years to 

 babyhood, with whom he made himself as popular 

 by his farmyard repertory, as he did with the elders 

 by other qualities. The impression left upon him 

 appears from a letter written soon after 



"Ich habe heute mehrere Capitel in Mill's Utili- 

 tarianism gelesen und das Wort happiness mehr als einmal 

 gefunden : hatte ich eine Definition dieses vielumworbenen 

 Wortes irgend Jemand zu geben, ich wurde sagen : l go 

 and see the Huxley family at Swanage ; and if you would 

 enjoy the same I enjoyed, you would feel what is happiness, 

 and never more ask for a definition of this sentiment." 



SWANAGE, Sept. 22, 1867. 



MY DEAR DOHRN Thanks to my acquaintance with 

 the Mikroskopische Anatomie, and to the fact that you 

 employ our manuscript characters, and not the hiero- 

 glyphics of what I venture to call the " cursed " and not 

 " cursiv " Schrift, your letter was as easy as it was pleasant 

 to read. We are all glad to have news of you, though 



1 I have been reading several chapters of Mill's Utilitarianism 

 to-day, and met with the word " happiness " more than once ; if I 

 had to give anybody a definition of this much debated word, I 

 should say 



