206 LIFE OF PROFESSOR HUXLEY chap, xii 



He certainly showed far more knowledge and appreciation 

 of the contents of the Origin than any of the reviewers and 

 than any of the commentators, yourself excepted. 



Latterly he got deeper and deeper into theological and meta- 

 physical wanderings, and finally formulated his ideas in an 

 illogical fashion. 



... Be all this as it may, Dana seems to be in a muddle on 

 p. 20, and quite a self-sought one. — Ever yours, 



J. D. Hooker. 



The following is a letter of thanks to Mrs. Humphry 

 Ward for her novel Robert Elsmcre. 



Bournemouth, March 15, 1888. 



My dear Mrs. Ward — My wife thanked you for your book 

 which you were so kind as to send us. But that was grace 

 before meat, which lacks the " physical basis " of after-thanks- 

 giving — and I am going to supplement it, after my most excel- 

 lent repast. 



I am not going to praise the charming style, because that 

 was in the blood and you deserve no sort of credit for it. Be- 

 sides, I should be stepping beyond my last. But as an observer 

 of the human ant-hill — quite impartial by this time — I think your 

 picture of one of the deeper aspects of our troubled time ad- 

 mirable. 



You are very hard on the philosophers. I do not know 

 whether Langham or the Squire is the more unpleasant — but I 

 have a great deal of sympathy with the latter, so I hope he 

 is not the worst. 



If I may say so, I think the picture of Catherine is the gem 

 of the book. She reminds me of her namesake of Siena — and 

 would as little have failed in any duty, however gruesome. You 

 remember Sodoma's picture. 



Once more, many thanks for a great pleasure. 



My wife sends her love. — Ever yours very faithfully, 



T. H. Huxley. 



Meanwhile, he had been making no progress towards 

 health; indeed, was going slowly downhill. He makes fun 

 of his condition when writing to condole with Mr. Spencer 

 on falling ill again after the unwonted spell of activity al- 

 ready mentioned ; but a few weeks later discovered the cause 

 of his weakness and depression in an affection of the heart. 



