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, which 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. 



H 



