1857 ELECTED TO THE ATHEN^UM CLUB i6l 



Breslau (Imperialis Academia Csesariana Naturae Curioso- 

 rum). He writes to Hooker: — 



14 Waverley Place, April 3, 1857. 



Having subsided from standing upon my head — which was 

 the immediate causation of your correspondence about the co- 

 extension Imp. Acad. Caes. .Nat. Cur. (don't I know their 

 thundering long title well !) — I have to say that I was bo-n on 

 the 4th of May of the year 1825, whereby I have now more or 

 less mis-spent thirty-one years and a bittock, nigh on thirty- 

 two. 



Furthermore, my locus natalis is Ealing, in the county of 

 Middlesex. Upon my word, it is very obliging of the " curious 

 naturals," and I must say wholly surprising and unexpected. 



I shall hold up my head immensely to-morrow when (blessed 

 be the Lord) I give my last Fullerian. 



Among other things, I am going to take Cuvier's crack case 

 of the 'Possum of Montmartre as an illustration of my views. 



I wondered what had become of you, but the people have 

 come talking about me this last lecture or two, so I supposed 

 you had erupted to Kew. 



My glacier article is out ; tell me what you think of it 

 some day. 



I wrote a civil note to Forbes * yesterday, charging myself 

 with my crime, and I hope that is the end of the business. 



My wife is mending slowly, and if she were here would 

 desire to be remembered to you. 



In December 1858 he became a Fellow of the Linnean, 

 and the following month not only Fellow but Secretary 

 of the Geological Society. 



In 1858 also he was elected to the Athenaeum Club 

 under Rule 2, which provides that the committee shall 

 yearly elect a limited number of persons distinguished in 

 art, science, or letters. His proposer was Sir R. Murchison, 

 who wrote : — • 



Athenaeum, /an. 26. 



My dear Huxley — I had a success as to you that I never 

 had or heard of before. Nineteen persons voted, and of these 

 eighteen voted for you and no one against you. You, of course, 



* Principal James Forbes, with whose theory of glaciers Huxley 

 and Tyndall disagreed. 



