We can easily understand how eager biologists became now in pursuit of the goal which seemed almost within their reach; how interested they were in any new discovery, and how eagerly they sought for lower and simpler types of protoplasm since these would be a step nearer to the earliest undifferentiated life substance.  Indeed so eager was this pursuit for pure undifferentiated protoplasm, that it led to one of those unfounded discoveries which time showed to be purely imaginary.  When this reign of protoplasm was at its height and biologists were seeking for even greater simplicity a most astounding discovery was announced.  The British exploring ship Challenger had returned from its voyage of discovery and collection, and its various treasures were turned over to the different scientists for study.  The brilliant Prof.  Huxley, who had first formulated the mechanical theory of life, now startled the biological world with the statement that these collections had shown him that at the bottom of the deep sea, in certain parts of the world, there exists a diffused mass of living undifferentiated protoplasm.  So simple and undifferentiated was it that it was not divided into cells and contained no nucleii.  It was, in short, exactly the kind of primitive protoplasm which the evolutionist wanted to complete his chain of living structures, and the biologist wanted to serve as a foundation for his mechanical theory of life.  If such a diffused mass of undifferentiated protoplasm existed at the bottom of the sea, one could hardly doubt that it was developed there by some purely natural forces.  The discovery was a startling one, for it seemed that the actual starting point of life had been reached.  Huxley named his substance Bathybias, and this name became in a short time familiar to every one who was thinking of the problems of life.  But the discovery was suspected from the first, because it was too closely in accord with speculation, and it was soon disproved.  Its discoverer soon after courageously announced to the world that he had been entirely mistaken, and that the Bathybias, so far from being undifferentiated protoplasm, was not an organic product at all, but simply a mineral deposit in the sea water made by purely artificial means.  Bathybias stands therefore as an instance of a too precipitate advance in speculation, which led even such a brilliant man as Prof.  Huxley into an unfortunate error of observation; for, beyond question, he would never have made such a mistake had he not been dominated by his speculative theories as to the nature of protoplasm.