able without
stimulus." But continued bodily weakness told upon him to the extent
that all work became distasteful. An utter weariness with frequent
spells of the blues took possession of him; and the story of his life
for some years is the story of the long pursuit of health in England,
Switzerland, and especially in Italy.

Although Huxley was wretchedly ill during this period, he wrote letters
which are good to read for their humor and for their pictures of foreign
cities. Rome he writes of as an idle, afternoony sort of place from
which it is difficult to depart. He worked as eagerly over the historic
remains in Rome as he would over a collection of geological specimens.
"I begin to understand Old Rome pretty well and I am quite learned in
the Catacombs, which suit me, as a kind of Christian fossils out of
which one can reconstruct the body of the primitive Church." Florence,
for a man with a conscience and ill-health, had too many picture
galleries. "They are a sore burden to the conscience if you don't go
to see them, and an awful trial to the back and legs if you do," he
complained. He found Florence, nevertheless, a lovely place and full
of most interesting things to see and do. His letters with reference to
himself also are vigorously and entertainingly expressed. He writes in
a characteristic way of his growing difficulty with his hearing. "It
irritates me not to hear; it irritates me still more to be spoken to as
if I were deaf, and the absurdity of being irritated on the last ground
irritates me still more." And again he writes in a more hopeful strain,
"With fresh air and exercise and careful avoidance of cold and night air
I am to be all right again." He then adds: "I am not fond of coddling;
but as Paddy gave his pig the best corner in his cabin--because 'shure,
he paid the rint'--I feel bound to take care of myself as a household
animal of value, to say nothing of other points."

Although he was never strong after this long illness, Huxley began
in 1889 to be much better. The first sign of returning vigor was the
eagerness with which he entered into a controversy with Gladstone.
Huxley had always enjoyed a mental battle; and some of his fiercest
tilts were with Gladstone. He even found the cause of better health in
this controversy, and was grateful to the "Grand Old Man" for making
home happy for him. From this time to his death, Huxley wrote a number
of articles on politics, science, and religion, man