32 LIFE OF PROFESSOR HUXLEY chap, ii 



bailiff in question is greatly disturbed at the amount of poaching 

 that goes on in the playground, and unfolded his griefs to me at 

 length. It was a lovely evening, very calm, and I enjoyed my 

 boat expedition. To-morrow there is to be another to see the 

 operations of a steam trawler, which in all probability I shall 

 not enjoy so much. I shall take a light breakfast. 



These were the pleasanter parts of the work. The less 

 pleasant was sitting all day in a crowded court, hearing a 

 disputed case of fishing rights, or examining witnesses who 

 stuck firmly to views about fish which had long been ex- 

 ploded by careful observation. But on the whole he enjoyed 

 it, although it took him away from research in other depart- 

 ments. This summer, on the death of Professor Rolleston, 

 he was sounded on the question whether he would consent 

 to accept the Linacre Professorship of Physiology at Oxford. 

 He wrote to the Warden of Merton : — 



4 Marlborough Place, June 22, 1S81. 

 My dear Brodrick — Many thanks for your letter. I can 

 give you my reply at once, as my attention has already been 

 called to the question you ask; and it is that I do not see my 

 way to leaving London for Oxford. My reasons for arriving 

 at this conclusion are various. I am getting old, and you should 

 have a man in full vigour. I doubt whether the psychical atmos- 

 phere of Oxford would suit me, and still more, whether I should 

 suit it after a life spent in the absolute freedom of London. And 

 last, but by no means least, for a man with five children to 

 launch into the world, the change would involve a most serious 

 loss of income. No doubt there are great attractions on the 

 other side; and, if I had been ten years younger, I should have 

 been sorely tempted to go to Oxford, if the University would 

 have had me. But things being as they are, I do not see my 

 way to any other conclusion than that which I have reached. 



The same feeling finds expression in a letter to Professor 

 (afterwards Sir William) Flower, who was also approached 

 on the same subject, and similarly determined to remain 

 in London. 



July 21, 18S1. 

 My dear Flower — I am by no means surprised, and except 

 for the sake of the University, not sorry that you have re- 

 nounced the Linacre. 



