102 LIFE OF PROFESSOR HUXLEY chap, vi 



Poor fellow ! I wonder if he has entered upon the " larger 

 sphere of action " which he told me was reserved for him in case 

 of such a trifling accident as death. Of all the people whom I 

 have met with in my life, he and Darwin are the two in whom 

 I have found something bigger than ordinary humanity — an 

 unequalled simplicity and directness of purpose — a sublime un- 

 selfishness. 



Horrible as it is to us, I imagine that the manner of his 

 death was not unwelcome to himself. Better wear out than 

 rust out, and better break than wear out. The pity is that he 

 could not know the feeling of his countrymen about him. 



I shall be curious to see what defence the superingenious 

 Premier has to offer for himself in Parliament. I suppose, as 

 usual, the question will drift into a brutal party fight, when the 

 furious imbecility of the Tories will lead them to spoil their 

 case. That is where we are ; on the one side, timid imbecility 

 " waiting for instructions from the constituencies " ; furious 

 imbecility on the other, looking out for party advantage. Oh ! 

 for a few months of William Pitt. 



I see you think there may be some hope that Gordon has 

 escaped yet. I am afraid the last telegram from Wolseley was 

 decisive. We have been watching the news with the greatest 

 anxiety, and it has seemed only to get blacker and blacker. 



[Touching a determined effort to alter the management of 

 certain Technical Education business.] 



I trust he may succeed, and that the unfitness of these people 

 to be trusted with anything may be demonstrated. I regret I 

 am not able to help in the good work. Get the thing out of 

 their hands as fast as possible. The prospect of being revenged 

 for all the beastly dinners I sat out and all the weary discussions 

 I attended to on purpose, really puts a little life into me. 

 Apropos of that, I am better in various ways, but curiously weak 

 and washed out; and I am afraid that not even the prospect of 

 a fight would screw me up for long. I don't understand it, un- 

 less I have some organic disease of which nobody can find any 

 trace (and in which I do not believe myself), or unless the ter- 

 rible trouble we have had has accelerated the advent of old age. 

 I rather suspect that the last speculation is nearest the truth. 

 You will be glad to hear that my poor girl is wonderfully better, 

 and, indeed, to all appearance quite well. They are living 

 quietly at Norwood. 



I shall be back certainly by the 12th April, probably before. 



