78 THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY 



which they have been held, nor that to which some of them 

 aspire." 



Since then the higher education of women has made 

 extraordinary advances, and there would seem to 

 be much truth in this prophecy made forty years 

 ago. 



During the summer he gave his hearty support to the 

 International Education Society, which then commenced 

 its work. An International College was founded at Isle- 

 worth for the purpose of giving practical expression to the 

 views of the Society, which included the establishment 

 of similar and related institutions in France and Germany. 

 The aim was to provide a liberal education for boys, 

 which in its earlier stages would be the same for all 

 pupils, whether destined to become professional men, or 

 to engage in commercial pursuits. 



The chief distinguishing features of the course were 

 to be proper provision for instruction in the elements of 

 physical and social science, and in three modern languages 

 (English, French, and German), these to be acquired by 

 dividing the course of a pupil between the three colleges. 

 The physical science was to include the topics dealt 

 with by Huxley in his preliminary lectures at the 

 Royal School of Mines, and afterwards embodied in his 

 work on Physiography, the equivalent of the German 

 " Erdkunde.' ; The Franco-Prussian war unfortunately 

 prevented this most interesting scheme from coming to 

 fruition. 



It will be seen that the views of the International 

 Education Society have steadily made headway in this 

 country, and they will continue to do so. Thanks to the 

 efforts of Huxley and other educational pioneers, the 

 claims of natural science are now largely admitted, and 

 effect given to the admission. The recognition of 



