68 LIFE OF PROFESSOR HUXLEY chap, v 



do. It would be glorious to be a voice working in secret and 

 free from all those personal motives that have actuated the best. 

 But, unfortunately, one is not a " vox et praeterea nihil," but 

 with a considerable corporality attached which requires feeding, 

 and so while my inner man is continually indulging in these 

 anchorite reflections, the outer is sedulously elbowing and push- 

 ing as if he dreamed of nothing but gold medals and pro- 

 fessors' caps. 



I am getting on very well — better I fear than I deserve. 

 One of my papers was published in 1849 i" the Philosophical 

 Transactions, another in the Zoological Transactions, and some 

 more may be published in the Linncean if I like — ^but I think I 

 shall not like. Then I have worked pretty hard, and brought 

 home a considerable amount of drawings and notes about new 

 or rare animals, all particularly nasty slimy things, and they 

 will most likely be published as a separate work by the Royal 

 Society. 



Owens, Forbes, Bell, and Sharpey (the doctor will tell you 

 of what weight these names are) are all members of the com- 

 mittee which disposes of the money, and are all strongly in 

 favour of my "valuable researches" (cock-a-doodle-doo!!) 

 being published by the Society. From various circumstances I 

 have taken a better position than I could have expected among 

 these grandees, and I find them all immensely civil and ready to 

 help me on, tooth and nail, particularly Prof. Forbes, who is a 

 right good fellow, and has taken a great deal of trouble on my 

 behalf. Owen volunteered to write to the " First Lord " on 

 my behalf, and did so. Sharpey, when I saw him, reminded 

 me, as he always does, of my great contest with Stocks * (do 

 you remember throwing the shoe?), and promised me all the 

 assistance in his power. Prof. Bell, who is secretary to the 

 Royal, and has great influence, promised to help me in every 

 way, and asked me to dine with him and meet a lot of nobs. 

 I take all these things quite as a matter of course, but am 

 all the while considerably astonished. The other day I dined 

 at the Geological Club and met Lyell, Murchison, de la B[eche] 

 Horner, and a lot more, and last evening I dined with a whole 

 lot of literary and scientific people. 



Owen was, in my estimation, great, from the fact of his 

 smoking his cigar and singing his song like a brick. 



I tell you all these things to show you clearly how I stand. 



* See p. 19. 



