ILL-HEALTH 47

On his return journey he spent three4 days in
Venice, but though he derived much pleasure from
the general effects, he was repelled by the obtrusive-
ness and superficiality of the decorations. He re-
garded St Mark's as "a fine sample of barbaric
architecture"; "it has the trait distinctive of semi-
civilised art—excess of decoration"j "it is archaeo-
logical ly, but not aesthetically precious."

The entry in his journal for Feb. I2th» 1880 reads;
11 Home at 7-10 § heartily glad—more pleasure than
in anything that occurred during my tour."

Although he did not greatly enjoy his tour in
Egypt, and brought back his packet of work unopened,
the break seems to have been " decidedly beneficial."
" It has apparently worked some kind of constitutional
change § for, marvellous to relate, I am now able to
drink beer with impunity and, I think, with benefit—a
thing I have not been able to do for these fifteen years
or more," He thought that it had also perhaps
furthered his work to have had contact with people
in a lower stage of civilisation,

In 1881 Spencer published the eighth part of his
Dtjtcriptivt1 Sociology and put t full stop to the under-
taking which left him with t deficit of between three
and four thousand pounds, and which had half-killed
two secretaries.

Spencer's next ttik was the completion of Potitieal
Imtit'UtmnSt another instalment of the Sociology t which
he had begun in 1879, and he was at this time also
occupied in considering and answering the more for-
midable of the criticisma which his system had
arottied, and in revising new editions of the First
Principle and The Study of Serfe/egy, It is interesting to his jaundiced eyes, eruption ! About this time he