1892 THE PRIVY COUNCILLORSHIP 349 



and vowed this time also). Then we shook hands with all the 

 P.C.'s present, including Lord Lome, and so exit backwards. 

 It was all very curious. . . . 



After that a capital lunch and back we came. Ribblesdale 

 and several other people I knew were of the party, and I found 

 it very pleasant talking with him and Jesse Collings, who is a 

 very interesting man. 



" Oh," he said, " how I wish my poor mother, who was a 

 labouring woman — a great noble woman — and brought us nine 

 all up in right ways, could have been alive." Very human and 

 good and dignified too, I thought. 



He also used to tell how he was caught out when he 

 thought to make use of the opportunity to secure a close 

 view of the Queen. Looking up, he found her eyes fixed 

 upon him; Her Majesty had clearly taken the opportunity 

 to do the same by him. 



Regarding the Privy Councillorship as an exceptional 

 honour for science, over and above any recognition of his 

 personal services, which he thought amply met by the Civil 

 List pension specially conferred upon him as an honour at 

 his retirement from the public service, Huxley was no little 

 vexed aj; an article in Nature for August 25 (vol. xlvi. p. 

 397), reproaching the Government for allowing him to 

 leave the public service six years before, without recog- 

 nition. Accordingly he wrote to Sir J. Donnelly on 

 August 27 : — 



It is very unfair to both Liberal and Conservative Govern- 

 ments, who did much more for me than I expected, and I feel 

 that I ought to contradict the statement without loss of time. 



So I have written the inclosed letter for publication in 

 Nature. But as it is always a delicate business to meddle with 

 official matters, I wish you would see if I have said anything 

 more than I ought to say in the latter half of the letter. If so, 

 please strike it out, and let the first half go. 



I had a narrow shave to get down to Osborne and kiss hands 

 on Thursday. What a quaint ceremony it is ! 



The humour of the situation was that we three hot Union- 

 ists, White Ridley, Jesse Collings, and I, were escorted by the 

 whole Gladstonian household. 



And again on August 30 : — 



