24 



MY LIFE 



[Chap. 



that everything pointed to its having been a development 

 out of matter — a phase of that continuous process of evolution 

 by which the whole universe had been brought to its present 

 condition. So we had to wait and work contentedly at 

 minor problems. And now, after forty years, though 

 Spencer and Darwin and Weismann have thrown floods of 

 light on the phenomena of life, its essential nature and its 

 origin remain as great a mystery as ever. Whatever light 

 we do possess is from a source which Spencer and Darwin 

 neglected or ignored. 



In 1865, when Spencer was, I believe, one of the editors 

 of The Readei% he asked me to write an article on the treat- 

 ment of savage races, with special reference to some cases of 

 the barbarity of settlers in Australia that had recently been 

 published. This I did, and the article appeared in the issue 

 of June 17. Ten years later, on November 13, 1875, he wrote 

 to ask me where and when this article had appeared, adding, 

 " I ask the question because I contemplate giving Dr. 

 Bridges a castigation for the unwarranted sneer at the close 

 of his article in the Fortnightly^ I may add that I have 

 reprinted my article (with some additions referring to recent 

 facts) in my " Studies Scientific and Social," vol. ii. p. 107. 



The first letter I received from Spencer was when I sent 

 him my paper on The Origin of Human Races under the 

 Law of Natural Selection." He said that he had read it 

 with great interest, and added, " Its leading idea is, I think, 

 undoubtedly true," concluding with a hope that I would 

 pursue the inquiry. 



Soon afterwards he invited me to dine with him in Bays- 

 water, where he lived for many years in a boarding-house with 

 rather a commonplace set of people — retired Indian officers 

 and others ; and I afterwards visited him there several times. 

 I was amused when some popular error was solemnly put 

 forth at dinner as the explanation of some phenomenon ; 

 Spencer would coolly tell them that it was quite incorrect, 

 and then proceed to explain why it was^so, and on principles 

 of evolution could not be otherwise. In the evening, after we 



