23 



of Works. It is too late now to tender to Dr. Hooker that re- 

 spectful sympathy which we in common with others felt, but it 

 is never too late to deprecate a system which renders such an 

 outrage possible, or to deplore those humiliating references to 

 science and scientific men which, uttered by a minister of the 

 Crown from his place in parliament and uncontradicted by his 

 colleagues, of necessity pass as the expressed opinion of the 

 government. Happily a universal expression of disapproval 

 showed that the sentiments uttered had no reflex in the public 

 mind, and in this fact alone there is some promise of safety for 

 the future. 



Professor Wyville Thomson's work has been alluded to as an 

 important contribution to the Natural History literature of the 

 year, and there are at least two other recent English books which 

 may not be passed over, although the extent to which I have 

 already trespassed on your attention warns me that any com- 

 ment upon them must be of the briefest. It is easy to accom- 

 modate oneself to this condition in the case of J\Ir. Darwin's 

 " Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals," for it is, 

 like all his books, so full of accurate observation and philoso- 

 phical deduction, and the various phases presented to the reader 

 are so closely connected that he who is interested in the sub- 

 ject must go to the book itself, as being a far more compact 

 statement of facts and inferences than any worthy criticism 

 could be. Its bearing upon the great principle with which the 

 name of the author is associated is less obvious than that of 

 many of his papers, but it fits in with the rest to give roundness 

 and solidity to the foundation of the edifice which he has raised. 



The other book is Dr. Charlton Bastian's "Beginnings of 

 Life" — an addition of two thick volumes to the spontaneous 

 generation controversy. They contain an epitome of the lite- 

 rature of the subject drawn up with more or less fairness, 

 together with an account of the various scries of experiments 

 which have been described in papers previously published by 

 the author, supplemented by some new matter. "Whatever esti- 

 mate may be placed upon Dr. Bastian's experiments, every one 

 must admit the diligence and assiduity with which he has 



