220 LIFE OF PROFESSOR HUXLEY chap, xv 



— that I picked up " Atavism " in Pritchard years ago, and as it 

 is a much more convenient word than " Hereditary transmission 

 of variations," it slipped into equivalence in my mind, and I 

 forgot all about the original limitation. 



But if these excuses should in your judgment tend to aggra- 

 vate my offences, suppress 'em like a friend. One may always 

 hope more from a lady's tender-heartedness than from her sense 

 of justice. 



Publisher has just sent to say that I must give him any cor- 

 rections for second thousand of my booklet immediately. 



Why did not Miss Etty send any critical remarks on that 

 subject by the same post? I should be most immensely obliged 

 for them. — Ever yours faithfully, T. H. Huxley. 



During this period of special work at the anthropological 

 side of the Evolution theory, Huxley made two important 

 contributions to the general question. 



As secretary of the Geological Society, the duty of de- 

 livering the anniversary address in 1862 fell to him in the 

 absence of the president, Leonard Horner, who had been 

 driven by ill-health to winter in Italy. 



The object at which he aimed appears from the post- 

 script of a brief note of Feb. 19, 1862, to Hooker : — 



I am writing the body of the address, and I am going to 

 criticise Palseontological doctrines in general in a way that will 

 flutter their nerves considerable. 



Darwin is met everywhere with — Oh this is opposed to 

 palaeontology, or that is opposed to palaeontology — and I mean to 

 turn round and ask, " Now, Messieurs les Palaeontologues, what 

 the devil do you really know ? " 



I have not changed sex, although the postscript is longer 

 than the letter. 



The delivery of the address * itself on February 21 is 

 thus described by Sir Charles Lyell f (Life and Letters, ii. 

 356) :- 



Huxley delivered a brilliant critical discourse on what 

 palKontology has and has not done, and proved the value of 



* On "Geological Contemporaneity" (Co//. Ess. viii. 292). 



f To a note of whose, proposing a talk over the subject, Huxley 

 replies on May 5, " I am very glad you find something to think about 

 in my address. That is the best of all praise." 



