[In April he had been ill, and his wife begged him to put off some business which had to be done at York.  But unless absolutely ordered to bed by his doctor, nothing would induce him to put personal convenience before public duty.  However, he took his son to look after him.]

I am none the worse for my journey [he writes from York], rather the better; so Clark is justified, and I should have failed in my duty if I had not come.  H. Looks after me almost as well as you could do.

[To make amends, fishery business in the west country during a fine summer had] “a good deal of holiday in it,” [though a cross journey at the beginning of August from Abergavenny to Totness made him write:—­]

If ever (except to-morrow, by the way) I travel within measurable distance of a Bank Holiday by the Great Western, may jackasses sit on my grandmother’s grave.

[As the business connected with the Inspectorship had been enlarged in the preceding years by exhibitions at Norwich and Edinburgh, so it was enlarged this year, and to a still greater extent, by the Fisheries Exhibition in London.  This involved upon him as Commissioner, not only the organisation of the Conference on Fish Diseases and the paper on the Diseases of Fish already mentioned, but administration, committee meetings, and more—­a speech on behalf of the Commissioners in reply to the welcome given them by the Prince of Wales at the opening of the Exhibition.  On the following day he expressed his feelings at this mode of spending his time in a letter to Sir M. Foster.]

I am dog-tired with yesterday’s function.  Had to be at the Exhibition in full fig at 10 a.m., and did not get home from the Fishmongers’ dinner till 1.20 this morning.

Will you tell me what all this has to do with my business in life, and why the last fragments of a misspent life that are left to me are to be frittered away in all this drivel?

Yours savagely,

T.H.  Huxley.

[Later in the year, also, he had to serve on another Fishery Commission much against his will, though on the understanding that, in view of his other engagements, he need not attend all the sittings.

A more satisfactory result of the Exhibition was that he found himself brought into close contact with several of the great city companies, whose enormous resources he had long been trying, not without some success, to enlist on behalf of technical and scientific education.

Among these may be noted the Fishmongers, the Mercers, who had already interested themselves in technical education, and gave their hall for the meetings of the City and Guilds Council, of which Huxley was an active member; the Clothworkers, in whose schools he distributed the prizes this year; and, not least, the Salters, who presented him with their freedom on November 13.  Their master, Mr. J.W.  Clark, writing in August, after Huxley had accepted their proposal, says:  “I think you must admit that the City Companies have yielded liberally to the gentle compassion you have exercised on them.  So far from helping you to act the traitor, we propose to legitimise your claim for education, which several of us shall be willing to unite with you in promoting.”  (See above.)