324 LIFE OF PROFESSOR HUXLEY chap, xxn 



Comte in his later days was an apostate from his own creed; 

 his " nouveau grand Etre supreme " being as big a fetish as 

 ever nigger first made and then worshipped. — Ever yours faith- 

 fully, T. H. Huxley. 



It is interesting to note how he invariably submitted 

 his writings to the criticism of his wife before they were 

 seen by any other eye. To her judgment was due the 

 toning down of many a passage which erred by excess of 

 vigour, and the clearing up of phrases which would be 

 obscure to the public. In fact, if an essay met with her 

 approval, he felt sure it would not fail of its effect when 

 published. Writing to her from Norwich on August 23, 

 1868, he confesses himself with reference to the lecture " On 

 a Piece of Chalk " :— 



I met Grove who edits Macmillan, at the soiree. He pulled 

 the proof of my lecture out of his pocket and said, " Look here, 

 there is one paragraph in your lecture I can make neither top 

 nor tail of. I can't understand what it means." I looked to 

 where his finger pointed, and behold it was the paragraph you 

 objected to when I read you the lecture on the sea shore! I 

 told him, and said I should confess, however set up it might 

 make you. 



At the beginning of September, he rejoined his wife and 

 family at Littlehampton, " a grand place for children, be- 

 cause you go up rather than down into the sea, and it is 

 quite impossible for them to get into mischief by falling," 

 as he described it to his friend Dr. Dohrn, who came dovm 

 for ten days, eagerly looking forward " to stimulating walks 

 over stock and stone, to Tennyson, Herbert Spencer, and 

 Harry's ringing laugh." 



The latter half of the month he spent at or near Dublin, 

 serving upon the Commission on Science and Art In- 

 struction : — 



To-day (he writes on September 16), we shall be occupied 

 in inspecting the School of Science and the Glasnevin botanical 

 and agricultural gardens, and to-morrow we begin the session 

 work of examining all the Irishry, who want jobs perpetrated. 

 It is weary work, and the papers are already beginning to tell 

 lies about us and attack us. 



