The essay has become a neglected form. The rush of progress has made it too expensive to print what essayists have to say, and we regret it even more than the loss of the short story. For it cheers us to listen to an amusing man of great intelligence, especially when he talks about himself. Huxley satisfies this desire in [Along the Road] more than anywhere else. He is talking about the great things in his own civilisation and we shall see in [Beyond the Mexique Bay] that when he wanders in alien lands among peoples whose civilisations are remote, he loses something of his tone. (p. 121)

Huxley's normal tone in [Proper Studies] is well-mannered, straightforward and easy. The pace is equable, suitable to expository work; and he attracts us as an essayist should, because he is an interesting person, with sensible reactions to a difficult world. Society...