Some whales have all the cerebral vertebrae free now, and every one of them has the full number, seven, whether they are free or fixed.  No doubt whales had hind legs once upon a time.  If when you come up to town you go to the College of Surgeons, my friend Flower the Conservator (a good man whom you should know), will show you the whalebone whale’s thigh bones in the grand skeleton they have recently set up.  The legs, to be sure, and the feet are gone, the battle of life having left private Cetacea in the condition of a Chelsea pensioner.

Ever yours faithfully,

T.H.  Huxley.

[This year the British Association met at Nottingham, and Huxley was president of Section D. In this capacity he invited Professor Haeckel to attend the meeting, but the impending war with Austria prevented any Prussian from leaving his country at the time, though Haeckel managed to come over later.

Huxley did not deliver a regular opening address to the section on the Thursday, but on the Friday made a speech, which was followed by a discussion upon biology and its several branches, especially morphology and its relation to physiology ("the facts concerning form are questions of force, every form is force visible.”) He lamented that the subdivisions of the section had to meet separately as a result of specialisation, the reason for which he found in the want of proper scientific education in schools.  And this was the fault of the universities, for just as in the story, “Stick won’t beat dog, dog won’t bite pig, and so the old woman can’t get home,” science would not be taught in the schools until it is recognised by the universities.

This prepared the way for Dean Farrar’s paper on science teaching in the public schools.  His experience as a master at Harrow made him strongly oppose the existing plan of teaching all boys classical composition whether they were suited for it or no.  He wished to exchange a great deal of Latin verse-making for elementary science.

This paper was doubly interesting to Huxley, as coming from a classical master in a public school, and he remarked, “He felt sure that at the present time, the important question for England was not the duration of her coal, but the due comprehension of the truths of science, and the labours of her scientific men.”

On the practical side, however, Mr. J. Payne said the great difficulty was the want of teachers; and suggested that if men of science were really in earnest they would condescend to teach in the schools.

It was to a certain extent in answer to this appeal that Huxley gave his lectures on Physiography in 1869, and instituted the course of training for science teachers in 1871.

He concluded his work at Nottingham by a lecture to working men.

The following is in reply to Mr. Spencer who had accused himself of losing his temper in an argument:—­]

26 Abbey Place, Sunday, November 8, 1868.