viii LIFE OF PROFESSOR HUXLEY 



he was engaged, of his character and temperament, and 

 the circumstances under which his various works were be- 

 gun and completed. 



So far as possible, I have made his letters, or extracts 

 from them, tell the story of his life. If those of any given 

 period are diverse in tone and character, it is simply because 

 they reflect an equal diversity of occupations and interests. 

 Few of the letters, however, are of any great length ; many 

 are little more than hurried notes ; others, mainly of private 

 interest, supply a sentence here and there to fill in the 

 general outline. 



Moreover, whenever circumstances permit, I have en- 

 deavoured to make my own part in the book entirely im- 

 personal. My experience is that the constant iteration by 

 the biographer of his relationship to the subject of his 

 memoir, can become exasperating to the reader ; so that 

 at the risk of offending in the opposite direction, I have 

 chosen the other course. 



Lastly, I have to express my grateful thanks to all who 

 have sent me letters or supplied information, and espe- 

 cially to Dr. J. H. Gladstone, Sir Mountstuart Grant Dufif, 

 Professor Howes, Professor Henry Sidgwick, and Sir 

 Spencer Walpole, for their contributions to the book ; but 

 above all to Sir Joseph Hooker and Sir Michael Foster, 

 whose invaluable help in reading proofs and making sug- 

 gestions has been, as it were, a final labour of love for the 

 memory of their old friend. 



