AS A LECTURER 



439 



And now, a word or two concerning Huxley's personal con- 

 duct towards his pupils, hearers, and subordinates. 



As an examiner he was most just, aiming only to ascertain 

 the examinee's knowledge of fundamentals, his powers of work, 

 and the manner in which he had been taught. A country school 

 lad came near the boundary line in the examination ; though gen- 

 erally weak, his worst fault was a confusion of the parts of the 

 heart. In his description of that organ he had transposed the 

 valves. On appeal, Huxley let him through, observing, most 

 characteristically, " Poor little beggar, I never got them cor- 

 rectly myself until I reflected that a bishop was never in the 

 right." * Again, a student of more advanced years, of the 

 " mugging'" type, who had come off with flying colours in an 

 elementary examination, showed signs of uneasiness as the ad- 

 vanced one approached. " Stick an observation into him," said 

 Huxley. It was stuck, and acted like a stiletto, a jump into 

 the air and utter collapse being the result. 



With his hearers Huxley was most sympathetic. He always 

 assumed absolute ignorance on their part, and took nothing for 

 granted.f When time permitted, he would remain after a lec- 

 ture to answer questions; and in connection with his so doing 

 his wonderful power of gauging and rising to a situation, once 

 came out most forcibly. Turning to a student, he asked, " Well, 

 I hope you understand it all." " All, sir, but one part, during 

 which you stood between me and the blackboard," was the reply : 

 the rejoinder, " I did my best to make myself clear, but could 

 not render myself transparent." Quick of comprehension and 

 of action, he would stand no nonsense. The would-be teacher 

 who, wholly unfitted by nature for educational work, was mo- 

 mentarily dismissed, realised this, let us hope to his advantage. 

 And the man suspected of taking notes of Huxley's lectures for 

 publication unauthorised, probably learned the lesson of his life, 

 on being reminded that, in the first place, a lecture was the prop- 

 erty of the person who delivered it, and, in the second, he was 

 not the first person who had mistaken aspiration for inspiration. 



Though candid, Huxley was never unkind. . . . 



Huxley never forgot a kindly action, never forsook a friend, 

 nor allowed a labour to go unrewarded. In testimony to his 

 sympathy to those about him and his self-sacrifice for the cause 

 of science, it may be stated that in the old days, when the pro- 



* The " mitral " valve being on the left side. 



■f This was a maxim on lecturing, adopted from Faraday. 



