MANUAL ON VERTEBRATES 113 



The estimate of Huxley's mental powers formed by 

 some of his friends is strikingly embodied in a remark 

 Darwin, when expressing his appreciation of " Mr. Dar- 

 win's Critics," quotes from Hooker : 



"When I read Huxley, I feel quite infantile in intellect 

 (Life, i, p. 365). 



The preparation of this defence of Darwin, and of the 

 article on "Administrative Nihilism" took up no small 

 part of the brief summer holiday at St. Andrews, which 

 was also trenched upon by the British Association (Edin- 

 burgh Meeting) and other activities. Attempts, none too 

 successful, at golf-playing, did not sufficiently compensate 

 for over-pressure during the vacation, and a break-down 

 in health took place at the end of the year. 



Mention must also be made of the Manual of the 

 Anatomy of Vertebrated Animals, -^Mv:^ appeared in 1871, 

 and though never revised, is still (thirty-five years later) 

 indispensable to the student of vertebrate anatomy. It 

 differs profoundly from average text-books in that most of 

 the contained matter is based either on the author's own 

 researches or his first-hand observation of facts. 



This year, too, Huxley, Roscoe, and Balfour Stewart 

 undertook the joint editorship of a series of Science 

 Primers for Messrs. Macmillan. 



