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LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK
LORD AVEBURY

MACMILLAN AND CO., Limited

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" LIFE OF

SIR JOHN LUBBOCK

LORD AVEBURY

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BY

HORACE G. HUTCHINSON

IN TWO VOLUMES
VOL. II

MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED

ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON

1914

7

COPYRIGHT

31

CONTENTS
CHAPTER XXVI

POLITICAL REMINISCENCES

Bimetallism — Correspondence with Mr. Henry Chaplin —
Address to Working Men's Club — Collection of Income
Tax— Letter of Sir W. Harcourt — Guildhall meeting
against Home Rule — Indifferent health

CHAPTER XXVII

AT HOME AND ABROAD

page of his diary — Moves address to Mr. Gladstone —
Debate on the Budget — Nummulites in the Triassic —
President of International Sociological Institute — The
Twentieth Century : a Prophecy — The Use of Life — Its
wonderful reception— Society for Extension of Uni-
versity Teaching — ^Discussions about British Empire
League ....... 21

CHAPTER XXVIII

RE-ELECTION FOR LONDON UNIVERSITY

Ponds at High Elms — ^Declines Chair of L.C.C. — British
Empire League — General Election — His address — Is
returned unopposed — ^Mr. Frederic Harrison on " Best
Hundred Books " . . . . . .48

vi LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK
CHAPTER XXIX

" THE SCENERY OF SWITZERLAND "

PAGE

At Liverpool — Letters from Professor Heim and other
GJeologists — The Scenery of Switzerland — The twenty-
fifth Bank HoUday — The Use of Life In French —
Herbert Spencer on the " White Horse " — Petition
on behalf of the Kammalahs — At St. Andrews —
A.K.H.B 59

CHAPTER XXX

DIVERS PUBLIC FUNCTIONS

Enquiry into Jameson Raid — Alleged Bank Holiday
drunkenness — Colonial visitors — International
Library Conference — Question of the Gold Standard
— International Zoological Congress — King Alfred
Millenary Commemoration .... 76

CHAPTER XXXI

ISSUE OF "BEST HUNDRED BOOKS"

Phonographic time-saving — Use of Life — Messrs. Harms-
worth's issue of " Best Hundred Books " — Resigns
Coimty Council and Chairmanship of Foreign Bond-
holders— Institute of Bankers for Ireland — Death of
Mr. Gladstone — Indian Currency question . . 89

CHAPTER XXXII

LIGHTENING HIS BURDENS

Lessening of burdens — Letters from Mr. Lecky — Tour in
Wales — Letter on the Government Telephone Bill —
Mr. Balfour's comment on it — Buds and Stipules —
Joins " The Club "—Seats for Shop Assistants Bill—
The Boer War — Meeting at the Guildhall — President
of Associated Chambers of Commerce — Raised to
peerage ....... 102

CONTENTS vii

CHAPTER XXXIII

LORD AVEBURY

PAGE

Quitting the House of Commons — Many congratulations —
Resigns seat for London University — French suspicions
of England — Meeting in Paris of Associated Chambers
of Commerce — Its excellent effect — Crowds in City on
occasion of Relief of Ladysmith .... 119

CHAPTER XXXIV

PURCHASE OF KINGSGATE CASTLE

Estimate of some of his books — Death of Queen Victoria —
Work on behalf of Early Closing — The fate of Stone-
henge — Orientation of Stonehenge and Avebury —
Purchase of Kingsgate Castle — Description of the
castle — The matriculation subjects at the University
of London ....... 132

CHAPTER XXXV

POLITICAL, SOCIAL, AND LITERARY

Early Closing Bill in Lords — Many interviews on the
subject — The Scenery of England — ^Dreams — Coins
and Currency — History of bank notes — Ancient
business tablets — 720 per cent interest — Business
transactions, 2000 b.c. — Selection of Mr. Herbert
Spencer as candidate for Nobel Prize — Mr. Tedder's
tribute to Lord Avebury — In chair at remarkable
dinner at Athenaeum — His qualities as Chairman —
Various visits— Prussian Order of Merit . .149

CHAPTER XXXVI

WORK IN THE UPPER HOUSE

The Prestwich Gold Medal — Fire at Biarritz Hotel — Jubilee
of Manchester Free Library — Early Closing Bill passes
the Lords — Unveils tablet to Lord Maeaulay — Letter
from Sir G. Trevelyan — Model mountain building —

viii LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK

FAOE

First Warden of Birmingham University — Free Trade
— ^Responsibility for Boer War — Legion of Honour
— ^Magic and religion— T/ie Golden Bough — London
Chambers of Commerce and the retaliatory tariff —
Visit to Paris — His translators .... 173

CHAPTER XXXVII

ACTIVITIES AT 70 YEARS OF AGE

Activity at 70 years — Valescure — President of Society of
Antiquarians — Breakfast parties — Early Closing —
Curiosity of science — The Forms of Stems — Coal as
a raw (?) material — Work on Free Trade — His
"popular" books ....•• 195

CHAPTER XXXVIII

ANGLO-GEEMAN FRIENDSHIP SOCIETY

Sunday Closing Bill — Correspondence on Finance — Re-
ceives the Diplodocus — Statue to Sir Thomas Browne
— Letter from Professor Davis — Anglo-German Friend-
ship Society — ^Letter of Prince Biilow — Addresses
from German towns — And from Germans in England —
Letter of Mr. Bonar Law .... 208

CHAPTER XXXIX

FAILING HEALTH

Death of Sir M. Grant Duff — Moral Instruction League —
International Conciliation — Unionist Free-traders —
Cicerone to German visitors — Proportional Repre-
sentation— Sunday closing — Ill-health . . . 224

CHAPTER XL

RECOVERED VIGOUR

Peace and Happiness — Affection for his children — Income
Tax — In the chair at many meetings — Death of Edgar
Lubbock — ^Lord Avebury's obituary notices — Cen-

CONTENTS ix

PA6B

tenary of Geological Society — Dr. Heim's letter — Old
Age Pensions — Elected Rector of St. Andrews Uni-
versity — Anglo-Gterman friendship — Correspondence
with Count P. Mettemich .... 288

CHAPTER XLI

ADDRESSES IN SCOTLAND

Rector at St. Andrews — His address to the students — Free
Trade speech at Dundee — Darwin's " Centenary " —
Several of his Measures lost in House of Commons —
Excavations at Avebury — Address to the Royal
Scottish Geographical Society — Receives the Living-
stone medal ...... 258

CHAPTER XLII

EFFORTS FOR FREE TRADE

Death of Beaumont Lubbock, and of Rolfe — Correspond-
ence on the Land Taxes — Free Trade discussions in
the Chambers of Commerce — Free Trade meeting at
Queen's Hall — ^Darwin Centenary — Japanese apprecia-
tion of his books ...... 263

CHAPTER XLIII

A YEAR OF UNCERTAIN HEALTH

Arguments for BYee Trade — Proportional Representation
— Domestic losses — Ex-President Roosevelt — Out of
health again — Primitive Paternity — Golf with Lord
Northcliffe — To bed again— Mr. Lloyd (Jeorge and
the House of Lords — Correspondent of the Institute
of France — The Declaration of London . . 274

CHAPTER XLIV

BEGINNING OF HIS LAST ILLNESS

[The Herkomer portrait — Anglo-German friendship — A
busy spring — The House of Lords in the balance —

LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK

PAGE

Compelled to rest — Reciprocity between Canada and
United States — His Arabic translator — Serious illness
— The scientists his true fellow-workers . , 298

CHAPTER XLV

TEMPOBARY KECOVEEY

Temporary recovery — Visitors at Kingsgate and High
Elms — Lord Avebury's account of his illness — Private
property at sea in war-time — Activity up to end of the
year . . . . . . . . 805

CHAPTER XLVI

LAST DAYS

Free Trade meeting at the Cannon Street Hotel — His last
public function — The " Sussex skull " — The last guests
at High Elms — The end of the story . . . 314

INDEX . .828

Lord Avebury, from a Picture by Sir Hubert von

Herkomer, R.A., 1911 .... Frontispiece

Kingsgate Castle .... Face page 182

CHAPTER XXVI

POLITICAL EEMINI8CENCES (1893)

(Age 59)

This winter he brought out his book on Seedlings,
of which the Athenceum remarked that " In the
two well-filled volumes before us {Seedlings) Sir
J. Lubbock presents the . . . observer with a
record of facts which will be consulted not only
long after the most popular novel of the day has
sunk into oblivion, but even after the most
seductive of hypotheses has been supplanted by
another." ^

The members of the London County Council
had determined to have his portrait painted by
subscription and hung in the Library. They en-
trusted the work to Mr. Collier, who humorously
writes :

" I have just heard that the London County
Council have selected me to paint your portrait.
I am afraid you will scarcely share my pleasure
at this announcement, but I will do the best I can
to make the sittings as little inconvenient to you
as possible."

Not only did Mr. Collier succeed in making a

1 Athenceum, Jan. 21, 1893.
VOL. II 1 B

2 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

capital portrait, but from notices in the diary it
is manifest that he also achieved the possibly
more difficult task of keeping his sitter enter-
tained all the while. At its conclusion Sir John
is able to write, " He was very pleasant to sit to."

At this period the Bimetallic controversy was
raging with great severity. Bimetallists attri-
buted the great fall in prices, of say 30-40 per
cent, to a rise in the value of gold. Monometallists,
on the contrary, while admitting that there might
possibly be a rise of say 5 per cent in the real
value of gold, the production having somewhat
fallen off, attributed the main fall in prices to
improvements in manufacture, diminished cost of
transport, and other circumstances affecting the
articles themselves.

Mr. H. Chaplin having made a speech in which
he put the argument of the Bimetallists very
tersely. Sir John wrote the following letter to the
Times :

High Elms, Down, Kent,
Jan. 24, 1893.

To the Editor of the Times.

Sir — My friend, Mr. Chaplin, in his address to the
Surveyors' Institute last night, stated that all the
members of the late gold-silver commission expressed
their belief in an appreciation of gold.

Will you allow me, as one of the Commissioners, to
say that, while I think the facts point to some small
appreciation — say, 5 per cent. — I can by no means admit
that there has been so great a change as is stated by
Mr. Chaplin ? . . .

He estimated it, in his speech at the great meeting on
agricultural depression, and again last night, as being
30 per cent, since 1874.

Will you allow me to put to him this test ? Sir
Richard Paget at the Agricultural Conference quoted
official figures to show that during the last 15 years

XXVI POLITICAL REMINISCENCES 3

the rental and the value of land, estimated in gold, have
fallen 20 per cent. Now, if gold has risen 30 per cent,
and land estimated in gold has only fallen 20 per cent.,
it follows that the fall in rents is only nominal, and that,
so far from any real fall, there has been an actual rise
of 10 per cent.

If, on the contrary, as Sir R. Paget and the Agri-
cultural Conference, I believe correctly, maintain, there
has been a real fall in the rental and value of land of
20 per cent., it obviously follows that there can be no
such appreciation of gold as Mr. Chaplin supposes. — I
am, your obedient servant, John Lubbock.

The following comment on the above appeared
in the Western Daily Press :

Not since the puzzle which the late Mr. J. K. Cross,
once Under-Secretary for India, put to the economic
heretics who argued that an excess of imports over
exports was a national loss has a neater difficulty been
suggested than was yesterday propounded to Mr. Chaplin
by Sir John Lubbock. Perhaps Mr. Cross's puzzle,
although often quoted at the time, may be restated. It
was this : A merchant exports from the Tyne a cargo of
coal, worth on the spot a thousand pounds. It is sold
in Calcutta for fifteen hundred and the sum purchases
jute of that value. Thus the export of a thousand is
paid for by an import of fifteen hundred ; how could it
possibly have benefited this country for the import value
to have been no greater than the export ? Sir J. Lub-
bock's problem is addressed to bi-metallists. Gold, they
say, has appreciated thirty per cent, since 1874, hence
the troubles of landlords. But the rental and value of
land estimated in gold have during that period fallen
twenty per cent. Hence, if Mr. Chaplin's statement be
correct, the fall in rents has been only nominal, while
actually they have risen ten per cent.^

Mr. Chaplin answers the riddle set him thus —
disputing the major premiss on which it is based :

» Western Daily Prens, Jan. 27, 1893.

4 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

The Appreciation of Gold
To the Editor of the Times.

Sir — I should be sorry to misrepresent Sir John
Lubbock or anyone else, but I think he will find upon
examination that I was strictly accurate in what I said
with regard to the appreciation of gold and the members
of the Gold and Silver Commission at the meeting of the
Surveyors' Institute on Monday last.

What I said of them, taking it from the full report of
that association, was this : — " AH of them acknowledged,
in a greater or a less degree, the fact of the appreciation
of gold."

The statement is quite accurate, and is borne out to
the letter in section 47, part II., and section 11, part III.,
of the report of that Commission.

With regard to the test which he submits to me, it is
based on an assumption which I believe to be entirely
fallacious — viz., that rents have fallen only 20 per cent,
since 1874.

Official figures upon this point are notoriously mis-
leading. They do not include remissions, which equal,
I believe, and quite possibly exceed, the amount of the
permanent reductions.

Taken together, I am confident that 40 per cent,
would be nearer to the truth than 20, and if that is so his
test does not apply.

As to the opinion I expressed that gold had ap-
preciated 30 per cent., it is with diffidence that I presume
to differ from your correspondent, who ought to be a
great authority.

But the figure which I took — and I purposely put it
low — was based upon the estimates of such acknow-
ledged experts as Mr. Giffen, and upon the well-known
index numbers of Messrs. Sauerbeck, Soetbeer, and
Mr. Palgrave, as well as upon those of the Economist ;
and I must leave it to your correspondent to settle with
those gentlemen, who, unlike myself, can claim to be
authorities, the much vexed question — viz. how much
or how little gold has appreciated since the time I name.

It is something that Sir John admits the fact at all.

If it was 5 per cent, at the time of the Commission it
must surely have increased since then, and if Sir John

XXVI POLITICAL REMINISCENCES 5

continues to limit it to that amount, I think that he
will very shortly find himself alone in that opinion.

I was glad to see that his late colleague, Mr. Courtney,
who signed the report with him, has announced this
morning, in your columns, that he has advanced since
then in his opinions, and has now come to the conclusion
that gold has been getting dearer and dearer every day.

In any case I think my friend Sir John will have some
difficulty in convincing unfortunate landowners that the
fall in rents has been only nominal, and that, " so far
from any real fall, there has been an actual rise of 10
per cent." — I am your obedient servant,

Henry Chaplin.

21, Berkeley-square, Jan. 27.^

Athenaeum Club,
Jan. 30, 1893.

To the Editor of the Times.

Sir — Mr. Chaplin's letter does not answer the point
which I raised. I should not, however, ask you to be so
good as to insert another letter from me but for his
remark that I shall " have some difficulty in convincing
unfortunate landowners that the fall in rents has been
only nominal."

Perhaps you will allow me to point out that I said
just the reverse. My contention was that, if there has
been a rise of 30 ^ in the value of gold, as he supposes,
then the fall in rents is to that extent only nominal ;
and that if, as he and I both believe, the fall in rents is
a real fall, then there can be no such appreciation of gold
as he supposes. — I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

John Lubbock.^

On March 21 he moved a strongly worded
resohition in the House, respecting the hours of
workers in shops. At first the papers expressed
the view that it was too strong, and much opposi-
tion was prophesied.

The forecast, however, was not reahsed. It
was found that the shopkeepers themselves
were strongly in favour of the suggestion ; the

1 The Times of Jan. 30, 1893. = Ibid. Jan. 31, 1893.

6 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

threatened opposition melted away and the
resolution was carried unanimously.

It was in the following terms : " That in the
opinion of this House, the excessive and un-
necessarily long hours of labour in shops are
injurious to the comfort, health, and well-being
of all concerned ; and that it is desirable to give
to local authorities such powers as may be
necessary to enable them to carry out the general
wishes of the shopkeeping community with refer-
ence to the hours of closing."

On March 25 of this year Sir John gave an
address, under the title of " Personal and Political
Reminiscences," to the Working Men's College in
Great Ormond Street. His stories greatly amused
his audience and those who read the reports of
the address at the time, and a few may bear
repetition.

" Of course," he said, " candidates must ex-
pect much criticism and some condemnation ;
still, our newspapers are on the whole very fair,
and if occasionally the blame is rather severe, it
still oftener happens that one receives much more
credit than one deserves. Moreover, it is pleasant
to find that one has more good qualities than one
had supposed, and one feels that there may be
something in the praise — ^for of course the news-
papers on one's own side are most ably conducted
— whereas the condemnation is evidently the
result of political prejudice.

" One of the worst attacks on me, I think, has
been in connection with the Early Closing Bill ;
one champion of late hours and the liberty to
overwork other people, for instance, saying :

XXVI POLITICAL REMINISCENCES 7

" ' I would rather be a toad and live upon the
noisome vapours of a dungeon, than let infamous
knaves or crafty fiends trample on my precious
liberty.'

" But the most virulent abuse I ever experi-
enced was not in connection with politics at all.
It was from a negro of St. Domingo, and the
crime I had committed, which scarcely seemed to
merit such severe retribution, was that I had
stated, on ample authority, that negroes do not
show affection by kissing. For this crime (in
his eyes) he wrote me a most furious letter,
ending with the expression of an ardent desire to
drink my heart's blood.

" The occupations of my constituents at Maid-
stone were very various. One of them made a
livelihood by keeping Golden Pheasants. They
were lovely. Another had an interest in British
wines. He boasted that he had forty-seven
different kinds. I speak confidently, having
tasted them all. I tried to agree with him, but
they made no attempt to agree with me, or if
they did, it was very unsuccessful.

" The reasons given by electors for the vote
they were about to give were extremely various.
One man, a butcher, expressed his regret to me
that he had promised to vote for my opponent,
not knowing that I was going to stand, for he
said, ' I have bought a many of your bullocks,
and to be sure they always did eat beautiful.'
In a neighbouring constituency an elector
promised a friend of mine his support. ' Of
course,' he said, ' I shall vote for you ; why, I
built your father's vault.' I only remember one

8 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

case in which I was directly asked for money, and
the apphcant endeavoured to reassure me, and
to prove that I might give it without any risk of
being convicted of bribery, for he said, ' I am a
teetotaller and unmarried.'

" I have said that in the House of Commons
one passes many, many tedious hours. There are
however, of course, some amusing incidents. I
do not allude to what are known as ' scenes in the
House.' Personal altercations and recrimina-
tions are to my mind painful episodes, and one
of the most unsatisfactory features of political
life is that some leaders acquire their position
greatly through their condescending to the use of
unlimited vituperation. I will not, however, en-
large on this ; but I may lay myself open to the
charge of following the example of an American
editor who, referring to an attack made on him
by a rival newspaper, said that he would not con-
descend to reply, but if he did he should say that
' for length, spite, and flabbiness it reminded him
of nothing so much as a paralysed alligator.'

" Some of the funniest things I have ever
heard in the House have been said by Scotchmen.
One honourable Baronet from the south of
Scotland describing the £2,000,000 voted to India
towards the expense of the Afghan war (and
which was afterwards raised to £.5,000,000) de-
scribed it as a ' flea-bite in the ocean ' ; and the
same gentleman advocated an increase of the
European troops employed in India, for, he said,
' Depend upon it, Mr. Speaker, the pale face of
the British soldier is the back-bone of our Indian
Army.'

XXVI POLITICAL REMINISCENCES 9

" Two of the best specimens of Irish drollery I
ever heard in the House were said by a Mr.
O'SuUivan, who is not now in Parliament. He
objected strongly to the imposition of the gun-
tax, on the ground that ' Every man has a divine
right to carry a gun.' The other was in a speech
on the relative merits of Scotch and Irish whisky.
I need not say that he preferred Irish, for Scotch
whisky was, he told us, ' so hot that it goes down
the throat like a torch-light procession.' I may
also refer to Major Sanderson's wise and witty
remark that we might think we were giving a
subordinate Parliament to Ireland, but it would
certainly prove itself insubordinate.

" Occasionally, also, there are amusing scenes
in the House. Late one night Major Beresford,
then member for Southwark, was attacking some
proposal, when he said, ' I cannot find a word,'
and I presume he would have added ' strong
enough to condemn,' but at that unlucky moment
he dropped his notes, they got out of order, and
after standing for some moments looking for his
place and repeating, ' I cannot find a word,' he
gave it up in despair.

" On another occasion a member was making a
speech on Foreign Pohcy late at night, and, to
judge from the pile of blue-books he had collected,
had a great deal to say. I was thinking whether
I might not go home, when I observed a member
looking intently at the ceiling. I glanced up and
saw that one of the pendants which happened to
be just over his head was vibrating backwards
and forwards. I pointed it out to my neighbours,
and by degrees every one was looking up, and

10 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK

OH.

thinking less, I fear, of the argument than whether
the pendant would come down on his head.
After a while the speaker noticed that he was
listened to with unusual quiet, and, glancing
round, saw that every one was looking up at the
ceiling. He naturally paused and looked up too,
and when he saw the pendant rocking over his
head he gave a tremendous jump, tumbled over
his pile of blue-books, while the Speaker adroitly
seizing his opportunity called on the next man.

" But I think the most amusing scene I ever
witnessed in the House was one evening in 1879
when a young Irish member got up very late,
about half- past two in the morning, to speak
on a bill about Metropolitan racecourses. I was
about six seats from him, and to my surprise did
not hear a word. Nor in fact did any one else,
and they soon began telling him to speak up. He
only smiled, however, and went on with a good
deal of action, but without saying anything
audibly. Gradually every one, even the Speaker,
was in fits of laughter. But he persevered
gallantly. Moreover, his action was good, and his
face expressive. Sometimes he evidently was
attacking the Conservatives, who cheered deris-
ively, while we supported him ; sometimes he
appealed, all in dumb show, to the better feelings
of the opposite side and we all cheered, and event-
ually, after being on his legs about ten minutes,
he sat down amidst general applause, having been
listened to most attentively, though no one heard
a word. Members were a good deal puzzled at
such a speech, but my belief is that he was very
nervous, and spoke to himself. Mr. Darwin tells

xxvi POLITICAL REMINISCENCES 11

a story in one of his books of a man who was
about to emigrate. His friends gave him a
dinner, and of course he prepared a speech, which
he read over and over again to himself. When
he eventually got up to dehver it, being very
nervous, he forgot to speak out, and merely re-
peated it to himself as he had done before ; his
friends were naturally a good deal surprised, but
they fell into the joke as we did, applauding him
when he seemed to expect it, and especially at
the end ; so that he felt rather pleased with
himself, and told a friend afterwards that he had
been very nervous, but got through it better than
he expected.

" One of the penalties of a seat in Parliament
is the amount of correspondence which it entails.

" Scarcely a post, certainly not a day, passes
without an application for money. Many of
these letters are very sad, and the more so
because it is impossible to help all who apply ;
and indeed it would do more harm than good to
help any without inquiry. The writers, at least
where the cases are genuine, have evidently no
idea how numerous, how innumerable I may say,
such appUcations are. The other day I received
one which began, ' Sir, you will no doubt be
surprised at receiving an application for money
from a total stranger.' On the contrary, ninety-
nine out of a hundred are from total strangers.

" Some, on the other hand, are intended to
impart information. Here is one :

" ' Dear Sir — The first thing Englishmen want
are better wives. Ours are becoming the worst in
the world. They promise everything before you

12 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

marry them, and after that will do only what they
please,' etc.

" A secretary is almost indispensable, and
applications for secretaryships are very numerous.
The qualifications claimed are naturally very
high. In one of the last I received the writer
assured me that if I engaged him he would ' give
me a great deal of good advice.'

" The questions asked are innumerable, and not
only range over the whole field of human know-
ledge, but far beyond. Such questions as the
mode in which an earwig folds its wings probably
came to me rather as President of the Entomo-
logical Society than as a Member of Parliament,
and so perhaps also an anxious inquiry as to
what geological epoch does the Blue London Clay
belong. Many are for advice on the conduct of
life, as for instance :

" ' What advice would you give to a young man
leaving home to fight his way in the world ? '

" One rather long letter described how the
writer had caught a newt and put it in an
aquarium, from which it disappeared, and he
wrote to inquire what had become of it.

" Another, referring to one of my lectures in
this room, gave his reasons at some length for
thinking that the human brain is a miniature
representation of the Heavenly bodies, — a sort of
Orrery in fact.

" The headmaster of a Board School writes in
support of spontaneous generation, because on one
occasion, having to raise a board in the flooring, he
found under it a number of fleas.

" Again, I suppose aU County Councillors re-

XXVI POLITICAL REMINISCENCES 13

ceive innumerable suggestions — especially for the
abolition of fogs. One I had recently was to
warm the Thames by steam- jets. In fact, many
of them have a sort of comical ingenuity very
suggestive of Alice in Wonderland.

" Many correspondents send letters of reproof
and remonstrance, rather in sorrow than in anger ;
and sometimes under an entire misapprehension.
For instance, in my book on Ants, Bees, and
Wasps I differ from the well-known German
naturalist Christ as to the roadways of Ants, On
this I received a letter from a worthy Scotchman
expressing his surprise and regret that I should
venture to differ from the blessed Founder of our
religion, but saying that he had looked in vain
through the New Testament for any description of
ant roads, and asking me for chapter and verse.
Of course I explained to him that my reference
was to the German Professor,

" Other correspondents are more or less dic-
tatorial, ' Sir, I should be glad if you would not
only bring in a Bill, but pass it, to lessen the hours
of Shop Assistants,'

" Every General Election brings a number of
suggestions, some I fear with very little regard
to the Corrupt Practices Bill. One enterprising
firm of Fireworks manufacturers wrote to suggest
that a grand display of fireworks would greatly
delight my constituents.

" Sometimes the tables are turned, and the
result is to give one's correspondent a good deal
of trouble. On one occasion a gentleman in
Lincolnshire wrote to say that all the beans in that
country were growing that year with the seeds

14 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

the wrong way up in the pods. That was very
curious, and I asked him for some specimens, but
heard nothing more for some months, when he
wrote again to say that the beans had given him
an immense amount of trouble. He had heard
the story from a friend, and when he went to him
and asked for some of the curious beans he was
referred to some one else, and so on. In fact, he
had been riding about all over the country from
one person to another for weeks and at last came
to the conclusion that it was all a mistake ! At
any rate he never got one of the beans.

" That, however, had no direct reference to
Parliament. I will therefore quote another which
I received last year from the agent of a Scotch
Life Insurance Office :

Dear Sir —

General Election, 1892

In spite of the fact that at such a period you will
be inundated with correspondence, — some of benefit
to yourself but the greater part worthless, — I feel bound,
not only as a matter of business, but because I firmly
believe it is the right thing to do, to urge upon you the
necessity of an increase in your life assurance.

Your expenses, at such a period, must be heavy, and
the only way in which you can recreate the capital you
expend, protect the risk of your death, and provide
ready money in case of such an event happening, so
leaving your estate unencumbered and giving your
executors breathing time, is by a Life Policy.

" Occasionally very amusing letters come from
most unexpected sources. For instance, one
winter a couple of dormice were sent to one of my
daughters by post. They were seized, and she
received the following letter :

I have to inform you that a packet addressed to you

xxiv POLITICAL REMINISCENCES 15

containing a live Dormouse is detained at this office, it
being contrary to Law to forward through the Post
Office anything Ukely to injure the contents of the mail
bags, or to do harm to any officer of the Department.

" We wrote to the G.P.O. that even if Dormice
could injure the officers of the Department in
summer they were incapable of doing so in winter
because they were dormant, upon which assur-
ance they forwarded the parcel." This simple
way of relating his stories was that which he had
always found — and his experience was large — to
be most effective with a popular audience, especi-
ally of the working class.

The following correspondence refers to the
collection of Income Tax after the Budget speech,
but before the necessary Parliamentary authority
had been given. He admitted the convenience
of the practice, but thought that the Bill should be
taken as soon as possible, and put down a question
on the subject which, however, the Chancellor of
the Exchequer (Sir W. Harcourt) asked him to
postpone. Sir John agreed to the postponement,
but under gentle protest :

House of Commons,
14 April /93.

My deae Harcourt — I postponed the second part
of my question yesterday, as you wished. I had sup-
posed that the Resolution was sufficient to legalise the
collection of the Income Tax, but as it appears that
that is not the case, may I understand that after the
second reading of the Home Rule Bill is disposed of,
preference will be given to the Customs and Inland
Revenue Bill ?

The unauthorised collection of taxes should certainly
not last longer than is unavoidably necessary. — I
am, yours sincerely, John Lubbock.

Sir W. Harcourt replied :

16 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

Treasuby Chambers, Whitehall, S.W.,
April 15th, 1893.

Confidential.

My dear Lubbock — I entirely concur with you in
your objection to unauthorised collection of Taxes. It
is certainly a very unconstitutional anomaly that you
should collect a tax which has expired, and does not
exist, and which may never exist, and if it does may be
imposed at a rate either higher or lower than that on
which the collection is made.

It is worth your while to look at the sort of apology
Erskine May makes for this, pp. 640-41 of the Ninth
Edition, but it is in reality no legal answer.

It has been adopted and acquiesced in from con-
venience as much of the Bankers I fancy as of the
Exchequer.

The Exchequer is always sure of its money because
the Statute authorises the levy as and from the 6th of
April, but where the Tax remains unaltered it seems
convenient for the Bankers to make their deductions as
usual without having to go back on their accounts.

For the Exchequer of course it is also an advantage
to have money coming in to meet current expenses. I
was very much obliged to you for postponing your
question, because it might set cantankerous people agog,
and disturb and perhaps detract from the collection of
the Revenue.

I should be very glad to get the Customs and Inland
Revenue Bill through as soon as I can, but as you know
that is an uncertain matter. It has often passed in the
months of June, July, and even August, but having
regard to the doubtful legality of the whole business I
think it might be well always to put into the Bill an
indemnity clause, something like that in the Inland
Revenue Act of 1880, 43 and 44 Vic. cap. 20, clause 51,
so as to cover the responsibility of all parties concerned.

I think it quite plain that whether in the case of
Customs and Excise Duties or of Income Tax a resolution
is of no legal force, which only arises on the passing of
the Act.

Some people think that the collection is in fact author-
ised by clause 30 of the Inland Revenue Act 1890, but I
am not altogether convinced of that. — Yours sincerely,

W. V. Harcourt.

xxvi POLITICAL REMINISCENCES 17

Sir John never sympathised with the exclusion
of women from scientific societies, and he gladly
attended, and spoke in favour of their admission
to the Geographical Society, as suggested in
the following letter from Sir M. E. Grant Duff, its
then President :

York House, Twickenham, Middlesex,
April 17/93.

My dear Lubbock — It will give me great pleasure
to breakfast with you at 2, St. James Square on the 26th.

One of those idiotic squabbles which now and then
disturb learned Societies has broken out in the Geo-
graphical. The subject, or rather the ostensible subject,
is the admission of women to be Fellows, in the ordinary
way. The malcontents, who have their centre in the
United Service Club, say that women should only be
allowed as inferior or " Honorary Fellows " — without
full rights and not contributing to our Funds. The
Coimcil say that is all nonsense — they wish to be admitted
on the ordinary terms and certainly should be.

The real cause of the row is that we have only one
Naval man on the Council, Wharton, the Hydrographer
— ^who is, however, well worth two ordinary Admirals.

Aberdeen will come and talk sense. I hope you will
come and help him. With the two, all will go well.

It is the first trouble I have had in four years ; but
nonsense of this kind is infectious, and if the Society
takes to squabbling, I should find pleasanter occupation
than looking after it.

We need, however, nothing save that the Society
stands by its Council, which with your help it most
certainly will do. — Believe me, sincerely yours,

M. E. Grant Duff.

The hour is | p. 4 on Monday the 24th, and the place
the University of London Theatre.

As a matter of fact, however, it was not till
many years later that women Fellows were
admitted.

On the 3rd May there was a great meeting at
the Guildhall, presided over by the Lord Mayor,

VOL. II c

18 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

to pass a resolution protesting against Home Rule.
Sir John seconded the resolution in the following
words :

We, in the City of London, stand shoulder to shoulder
with the gallant men of Ulster. London is not only the
greatest commercial but the greatest manufacturing city
in the world, and the merchants, manufacturers, and
bankers of London concur with those of Liverpool and
Manchester and Birmingham, of Glasgow, of Belfast,
aye, and of Dublin also, in condemning and denouncing
this Bill. Our opponents sometimes call themselves a
party of progress. They are nothing of the kind. They
are not progressives ; they are not even stationary.
They wish us to go back a thousand years. It is not a
Bill for the better government of Ireland, and it attempts
to press on England against her will a Constitution
which we detest and to which we will not submit. Eng-
land has sent a majority of sixty-six members to oppose
Home Rule, and if the Principles of the Bill had not been
concealed from the country the majority would have
been larger still. Even now it is only passed by the
undue number of votes given to the South and West of
Ireland. London has a larger population than Ireland,
London contributes more to the Imperial revenue, and
yet while London has only 62 members, Ireland has
104. If Ireland had no more than we have, where
would Mr. Gladstone's majority be ? Liberal Unionists
are sometimes called traitors and deserters. There may
be treason somewhere, but it is not among the Unionists.
We have not deserted our principles or betrayed our
country.

No doubt we are face to face with a great national
crisis, but we are confident in the wisdom and justice of
our cause. We doubt not that England will be true to
herself, and though we must strain every nerve, the
victory will be ours, and we shall feel one and all with
pride that we have done what we can to prevent what
Mr. Gladstone once called " the dismemberment of the
Empire."

My Lord Mayor, I will conclude in the noble words of
Milton, " Oh, Thou, who of thy free grace didst build up
this Britannic Empire to a glorious and enviable height,

xxvi POLITICAL REMINISCENCES 19

with all her daughter islands about her, stay us in this
felicity " : and grant I will add, that we may hand down
to our children, whole and unimpaired, the glorious
inheritance bequeathed to us by our fathers.

In April of this year they had moved from
Piccadilly into 2 St. James's Square, which, as
Sir John notes, they liked very much, finding the
comparative quiet a great relief.

On May 16 his son Eric was born.

On June 16 he seconded Mr. Cremer's motion
for Arbitration, as he had the previous one moved
by Mr. Candlish. Gladstone made a charming
speech, very sympathetic, but suggesting a slight
change of words, which they accepted, and the
resolution was carried unanimously. The value
of such expressions of opinion has been sufficiently
attested by the steady increase in armaments,
and by the slight progress of arbitration in the
subsequent years.

On July 17 he opened the new laboratories at
Guy's Hospital, and afterwards was presented, on
behalf of the London Chamber of Commerce, with
an address, recording a vote of thanks for his
services, in a silver case.

Since the end of the preceding month, when he
had struck his knee against the corner of a table,
he had been continuously in pain, and was able to
do his work only with great difficulty and suffer-
ing. It was a tempestuous time in the House.
On July 27 he notes : " Went down to vote on
the closured clauses and there was a very tumultu-
ous scene, T. P. O'Connor calling Chamberlain
' Judas ' — a real free fight, the Home Rulers and
some few Gladstonians behaving disgracefully."

20 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch. xxvi

Towards the end of August he paired for the re-
mainder of the Session and went to Switzerland and
later to Cornwall. His health was much improved
by the change and rest, and soon after his return
home he went to Nottingham, addressing on
October 17 a Congress on Early Closing at which
there were present delegates from more than thirty
associations. They went through his Bill, clause
by clause. In the early part of December he
suffered a severe blow in the death of his old and
valued friend Professor Tyndall. It had been
again, on the whole, a very trying year for him.

CHAPTER XXVII

AT HOME AND ABROAD (1894)

(Age 60)

On January 24 he was at Liverpool for an Early
Closing meeting, staying with the Lord Mayor.
The meeting was held in the St. George's Hall
which was crowded, and the audience was en-
thusiastic. The resolution in favour was passed
unanimously. Next day the Lord Mayor made
him appear on the balcony over the " Flags."
He was reluctant, but the Lord Mayor said that
the Queen and the Duke of Wellington had done
so. This did not wholly convince him, but he
did not like to refuse, and received quite an
ovation.

In the spring he had a great deal of trouble
with Greece about the debt. M, Tricoupi, in his
opinion and that of the Council of Foreign Bond-
holders, had not behaved quite fairly towards
them. There were frequent meetings in the City
to be attended, and it was mainly on this business
that he went, in February of this year, with
Mr. Everard Hambro, to Paris, and had lengthy
interviews with many of the chief financiers in
that capital.

21

22 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

It may be of interest to the reader to see a
specimen of the kind of diary which Sir John was
in the habit of keeping ; and the notes of this trip
to Paris are so amusing, as well as typical, that
the page which records it may be quoted virtually
at full length.

Friday, Feb. 2. To Paris with Alice and the Ham-
bros, partly to give Ahce a httle change and partly to
meet the French and German commissioners on the
Greek Bankruptcy. A wet and cold passage. To
Hotel Meurice.

Sat. 3. Had our meeting at 2.30 at the Comp'
Nationale. Decided to have a joint protest, but did
not get very far. Dined at the Cafe Voisin and then to
see Sarah Bernhardt in Izeyl. Did not care for it. The
story is moral enough, but her acting in the love scenes
almost too realistic.

Sunday 4. To Notre Dame in the morning. Then
to the S'= Chapelle. In the afternoon called at the
Embassy and on Jules Simon. He looked aged and his
eyes have failed. He says that the French are not
increasing their Navy but that it has been much starved,
and that they are only making it reasonably efficient.
He declares that there is no real desire for war. In the
afternoon, called on the Dufferins.

Monday 5. Most of the day at the Comp' Nat.
d'Escompte on the Greek business. In the evening to
the Comedie Fran9aise to see the Monde ou Von s'ennuie.
Very amusing.

Thursday 6. Paid some calls. Had a long talk with
Dufferin. Went to the Jardin des Plantes, but found
everything shut up, being Mardi Gras. Great crowds
on the Boulevards. In the evening to M"" Sans Gene
at the Vaudeville — very good.

Wed. 7. In the morning to the Louvre. In the
afternoon some calls. Had a long talk with B. de St.
Hilaire. As usual, very interesting, but very desponding
— " France very corrupt politically, literature very
immoral, bankruptcy inevitable, the passions so roused
that war is certain. France may win, but if not will be
wiped out. The ways of Providence inevitable, and
perhaps all Europe to be dominated by Russia. He

AT HOME AND ABROAD 23

spoke of England with great admiration — our conduct
in India unique in history, quite marvellous. France
ought to ally herself with us. Thought, like Simon, that
it was useless to attempt to arrive at any understanding
about armaments."

Thursday, March 1. Heard from Macmillans that
they must print a sixth edition of the Beauties of Nature.
Called at the Corap' Nat. d'Escompte and had a talk
with M. De Normandie and M. Vlasto on the Greek
business. Went to see the Consul D'Etat with Dr. R.
Worms and lunched with him. Then to the Chamber —
a Workmen's question — rather violent speeches. Went
in the evening to the Theatre Francais.

The above may serve as a type of the pithy,
vivid entries of which his diary is composed ; and
the pessimistic utterances, happily not destined
for speedy fulfilment, of some of the distin-
guished Frenchmen mentioned, have their own
interest.

Immediately on returning home he was im-
mersed in parliamentary and other work, speak-
ing frequently in the House, attending meetings
of finance committees and so on. It is also to be
seen from the accounts of the Paris visit that he
worked nearly as hard at social functions. In
London he and Lady Lubbock were constantly
dining out or entertaining at their own house,
and to the more usual dinner-party he added that
form of hospitality which, as has been noticed
before, some of the guests found it not quite
so easy to enjoy as they should — his breakfast-
parties. It was a full life in every sense of the
phrase.

On March 16 he was invited to move the adop-
tion of a valedictory address presented to Mr.
Gladstone, on his retirement from public life, by

24 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

the City of London Liberal Association ; and
agreed to do so, though with some doubt, saying
that " he received with pleasure the suggestion
that he should move the adoption of an address
to Mr. Gladstone, whom he had followed long,
and with feelings of warm personal admiration.
At the same time he had some little hesitation,
because he thought there might be a feeling that
the motion should be proposed as well as seconded
by those who had followed Mr. Gladstone on the
Home Rule question. If that feeling were enter-
tained by any present he would only say that he
was acting in response to an invitation by the
Chairman and Committee, and he would merely
add on that point that, while firmly adhering to
the views which they had hitherto held and still
hold, they joined cordially in the proposal to
present such an address. There might be a word
here and there which some might think did not
go far enough or went too far, but in the spirit
they all cordially united. They deeply regretted
the cause which had necessitated Mr. Gladstone's
retirement from office. He had been closely
identified with all the great reforms of the last
half-century. In the adoption of Free Trade, in
the removal of civil and religious disabilities, in
the development of education, in the simplifica-
tion of the financial system, in the wise efforts
they had made in the reduction of the National
Debt, and in many other great reforms, he had
borne a prominent, he might say the prominent
part. His biography for the last fifty years was
the history of our country. They were occasion-
ally told that there was something inherently dis-

xxYii AT HOME AND ABROAD 25

honest and ignoble in political life. He would
point those who thought so, to Mr. Gladstone's
career — ^his noble and stately speeches, full of
righteous vehemence against everything which
seemed to him wrong or unjust, and yet without
bitterness — courteous, gentle, and even generous
towards his opponents personally.

" One of the greatest dangers of civilisation,
one of the greatest blots on human nature, was
the jealousy and ill-feeling between different
nations, and one of the noblest services which Mr.
Gladstone had rendered to his countrymen, and
he might say to the civilised world, had been by
promoting the settlement of international differ-
ences by the rational and Christian method of
arbitration, rather than by the cruel and barbar-
ous chance of war. He was glad that the address
referred also to Mrs. Gladstone. She had de-
votedly helped her husband in all his labours ;
and he hoped that they might both long live to
enjoy the repose they had so well earned, and to
enrich our literature from the stores of wisdom
and experience which Mr. Gladstone had accumu-
lated during his long and remarkable career." ^

Mr. Gladstone sent the following personal note
in reply to the address, on its presentation :

Brighton, March 24th, /94.

Dear Sir John Lubbock — I have just been putting
on paper in a letter to the Secretary my thanks for the
Address from the City of London Liberal Association.

I cannot feel that my duty is fully accomplished
without saying how sensible I am of the kindness shown
me by the mover and seconder.

And to you in particular my acknowledgments are

> Daily News, March 16, 1894.

26 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

due as one of those who, so far as my knowledge extends,
has always earnestly striven to confine within just and
narrow limits the operation of the too well-known and
lamentable schism in what once was, and I would fain
hope may, whether within my brief time or not, again
be our party. — Believe me, sincerely yours,

W. E. Gladstone.

On April 23 he took an active part in the
Budget discussion, especially with reference to the
farmers' Income Tax. It is curious that ever
since the imposition of the Tax, English farmers
had been made to pay Jd. more than Scotch or
Irish. He had called attention to this more than
once, and now spoke about it on the second
reading of the Bill, and said that he should move
a Committee to reduce the English rate. The
Chancellor of the Exchequer (Sir W. Harcourt)
was very contemptuous, and said that every one
else knew the reason, which was quite sufficient,
namely, that in England the Landlord did the
repairs.

" He apologised to his right hon. friend for
informing him that two and two made four. As
the Irish and Scotch tenants had the burden of
the repairs they were called upon to pay less than
the English agriculturist.

" Since the days when George III. wondered
how the apple got into the dumpling he had never
heard such a simple question as that put by his
right hon. friend. Everybody knew that the
principle to which the right hon. gentleman
objected had been acted upon time after time by
Liberal and Conservative Governments, and every-
body knew that hon. gentlemen opposite had
admitted the justice of the distinction and never

XXVI. AT HOME AND ABROAD 27

proposed the alteration which was now brought
forward by the right hon. gentleman." ^

In reply Sir John asserted that this, if a reason
at all, would point the other way, and said that
he should bring the question up in Committee.
When it did come up in Committee Sir William
Harcourt found that the country members on his
own side were not with him, and gave way, so
that the amendment was carried.

Time, which habituates eels to physical and
humanity to financial skinning, has led us to
regard almost any form and degree of taxation
with the equanimity with which we face the
inevitable ; but at that date nerves were more
sensitive. Sir John received many encomiums
for his opposition :

" You have taken, and, I hope, will continue
to take, an active part in resisting Harcourt' s
iniquitous scheme of graduated death duties ..."
writes one.

" Allow me to congratulate you," says another,
" on the announcement of the Chancellor of the
Exchequer that he withdraws the 8th clause of
his Budget bill. The Mercantile community owe
you their thanks for the active part you have
taken in the matter, and not less should the
Government thank you for saving them from a
terrible blunder."

Finally, he made an attack on the general
provisions of the Budget Bill in an article in the
New Review.

In August he was at Oxford for the British
Association meeting. During Lord Salisbury's

• Times, April 24, 1894.

28 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

(the President) Address he was sitting, in the
Sheldonian, next to Huxley, who was to second
the vote of thanks. Lord Sahsbury discussed the
Darwinian theory in a way with which they
neither of them agreed. " Ah, my dear Lubbock,"
said Huxley, " how I wish we were going to speak
in Section D " (where the Address could have
been discussed) " instead of here ! "

Sir John's comment in his diary on Lord
SaUsbury's speech is that " Salisbury's address
was very clever and in some parts quite witty,
but he does not seem to me to have grasped
Natural Selection. The scene in the Sheldonian
was very striking."

On the 17th they started for Switzerland, Sir
John, Lady Lubbock, Mr. Douglas Fox Pitt, and
the children. He attended the Geological Con-
gress at Zurich, and went a most interesting tour
under the guidance of Professors Renevier and
GoUiez.

On the 20th he notes, " Have taken to work
on my Swiss book in earnest."

In course of this expedition he made a find
which interested him enormously. It is first
noted in his diary of Friday, September 7.
" Heavy rain and snow. Beautiful glimpses but
no distant view. To Murren. In the reputed
Triassic, in which no fossils had been discovered,
I found a piece with two Nummulites. Renevier
is delighted. The authorities all agree that they
are Nummulites. GoUiez admits that they are
very like, but justly says that they must be
examined microscopically. If they are, he says
he shall give up geology and Lungeon says there

xxvn AT HOME AND ABROAD 29

is no more any Swiss geology ! Anyhow it will
a good deal alter the map. No fossils had
previously been found in these rocks. I cannot
doubt that they are Nummulites, and in that case
we must either bring the rocks up from Triassic
to Eocene or else carry Nummulites down from
Eocene to Triassic. Anyhow it is so interesting
that we are going to give up to-morrow's plan
and go back to Murren."

Accordingly, on Saturday he writes : " Beauti-
ful day. Some of us went back to Murren where
we had a superb view and found lots of Nummu-
lites in the place I lit on yesterday. There can be
no doubt about it."

Three weeks later they arrived, on their
homeward way, at Paris, where on the Monday he
attended " two meetings of the Greek Committee,
one at 10.30 and one at 5. Came to satisfactory
agreement." Sir John was first President of the
new International Sociological Institute, of which
the first meeting was held the same day, in Paris.
It was by way of a little interlude between the
two financial meetings that he presided, and gave
his inaugural address in French, at this first
meeting of the Institute. He had a crowded
audience. The address was very well received,
both by the hearers and in the Press.

The conclusion of the meeting, which con-
tinued over several days after the Lubbock party
had left Paris, was no less successful than its
commencement, as Sir John is informed in the
following letter from Dr. R. Worms,

80 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

Pakis, Rue Quincampaix 35,
Vendredi, 5 octobre, /94.

Cher et honore Prj&sident — ^Notre congres s'est
termine hier, aussi heureusement qu'il avait commence.
Et je ne veux pas qu'il s'ach^ve, sans que vous avoir
adresse a nouveau 1' expression de la gratitude de tous
les Congressistes pour votre presence parmi nous, le
discours que vous avez prononce, et la direction que vous
avez donnee a nos debats. La presse fran9aise, aussi
bien que la presse anglaise et etrangere, vous a rendu
pleinement hommage. Ce matin meme, le plus r6pandu
de tous nos journaux quotidiens, le Petit Journal repro-
duisait votre photographic (que je lui avals communiquee)
en I'accompagnant d'lm article (que je vous envoie).
Plusieurs autres periodiques ont parl6 de votre discours
en fort bons termes : je les r6unirai et vous les adresserai
tr^s prochainement. Enfin, la Societe d'l^conomie
Politique de Paris vous avait invito a son diner de ce
soir ; son president, M. Frederic Passy, me charge de vous
exprimer tous ses regrets de ce que votre depart prive la
Soci^td de votre presence.

Plusieurs membres de notre Congres avaient exprim6
le vceu d'etre present^s a Monsieur le President de la
R6publique. Je m'en suis entretenu avec son cabinet,
et ai obtenu que M. Casimir-P^rier re^ut en audience les
membres du Congres, lundi prochain ou vendredi pro-
chain (a leur choix) vers onze heures. Je ne sais s'il
vous serait agreable et possible de prendre part a cette
visite. En tout cas, nous serions charmes de vous voir
k notre tete pour cette cer6monie. Aussi vous serais-
je tr^s oblige de me fair savoir par un telegramme si vous
pouvez etre k Paris soit lundi matin, soit mercredi matin
pour cette visite a I'lfclysee. Mon adresse t^l^graphique
serait alors : " Worms, Minist^re Commerce, Paris."
Bien entendu ne vous imposez pas la fatigue de traverser
la Manche si cette presentation ne vous parait pas offrir
d'interet. Mais quelque decision que vous preniez,
veuillez avoir la bonte de m'en avertir immediate-
ment.

Je vous prie, mon cher President, de presenter a
Madame Lubbock I'expression de tout mon respect, et
d'agr^er vous-meme I'assurance de ma vive gratitude et
de mon plus cordial devouement. Rene Worms.

AT HOME AND ABROAD 31

The Editor of Great Thoughts asked him to
send a forecast of what would probably happen
during the twentieth century, and forwarded him
Dr. Parker's reply to the same question, the
general tenor of which may be gathered from
Sir John's answer. While drawing a lurid picture
of present iniquities, Dr. Parker felt equally
confident that a hundred years hence we should
all be sober, honest, religious, pure — in fact, much
the reverse of what we are now.

To the Editor of Great Thoughts.

Dear Sir — I much admire Dr. Parker's prophetic
insight into futurity, which, however, I do not share.
As a man of business I have spent much time and
thought in endeavouring to look a few weeks or months
ahead and though with quite as much success as I could
reasonably expect, not without surprises.

Dr. Parker's remarks, however, suggest to me some
doubts, though I hardly venture to mention them.

If, after many thousands of years, we are in a plight
so terrible — our Professions tainted, our Science and
Religion in deadly enmity, our Creed stunted, our Public
Companies swindles (though I observe with satisfaction
that he excepts private firms), our Women despised, our
Literature dominated by " miserable knavery," and
our Clergy incompetent — what reasonable grounds are
there for hopes that a few short years more will make so
great a change ?

But it seems to me that some, at any rate, of his data
are wrong. I will only refer to a few. Science has never
been hostile to Religion. Scientific men, no doubt,
have been persecuted for discoveries, the truth of which
is now generally recognised. But Theologians have also
been constantly in conflict among themselves, and have
too often mistaken Anathemas for Arguments.

Dr. Parker is also too sweeping in his condemnation
of Commercial Companies. The business morality of
the Nineteenth Century must be judged by our great
Insurance Offices, Banks, Railway Companies, etc., etc.,
and the estimation in which they are held is shown

82 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

by the remarkable fact that they can borrow on more
favourable terms than most Kingdoms or Republics.
The relation of the Liberator to our Commercial Institu-
tions was that of the scum on the waters of the great
ocean. Moreover, the Liberator was not managed by
men of business.

Again he is mistaken in saying that the land is a
" monopoly of men who never paid for it." What is
divided among thousands is not a monopoly ; the land
still held by original settlers or direct grant from the
Crown, is but a fraction of the whole, and the greater
part has been bought and sold over and over again.

Differing, then, so much from Dr. Parker as to the
present, I cannot but feel some doubt as to his pro-
phecies with reference to the coming century. It is
difficult enough to see what will happen in the immediate
future, and, I think, impossible to forecast a hundred
years. — I am, yours truly, John Lubbock.^

The Use of Life came out this year, and Sir
John remarks that the reviews in the London
Papers " though friendly, were condescending,
and even somewhat contemptuous. Distin-
guished Uterary men knew the quotations and
the arguments were for the most part famiUar
to them. But the book was not intended for
scholars, or experienced men of the world. It
was meant for young people."

The Provincial, Colonial, and Foreign Reviews
were far more complimentary, in part perhaps
because, before they appeared, the large sale of
the book had already shown that it was appreci-
ated by those for whom it was intended. In
eight years it had sold to the extent of over
100,000 English copies, in addition to more than
16 editions elsewhere, including such languages as
Arabic, Hindoo, Marathi (2 Editions), Gujerati

1 Great Thoughts, March 9, 1805.

xxvn AT HOME AND ABROAD 38

and Japanese (3 Editions). It was made a text-
book in more than one of the Indian Universities.
Whatever may be the view of men of learning, it
is impossible to deny an importance to a book
which is read by such large numbers and such
different sections of the human race as these few
statistics indicate.

The reviews would fill a volume, and are in
almost all the written languages of the earth.

As a quoter of choice fragments of wisdom and know-
ledge, Sir J. Lubbock is without an equal.

The felicity with which the quotations are chosen,
the taste for true wisdom which they show, and the
apposite way in which they are put together to make up
a full discourse upon the subject in hand, amount to
little less than a genius for philosophical speculation.

Quand viendra-t-il en France un moraliste qui
comprenne notre ame comme Sir John Lubbock a com-
pris celle de sa patrie ? ^

Apophthegms are apt to stick in the throat instead of
the mind. Sir John Lubbock's great merit is that he is
able to render a good many dry morsels of knowledge
easy of digestion, and thus convert them into actual
food for the mind.

We should hesitate to say that a man could find a
complete philosophy of life in this little book, but one
can certainly find in it a great deal of philosophy, of
wholesome observation, good taste, good temper and
cheerful inspiration.

If we could put a copy of this book by Sir John
Lubbock in the hands of every young man of our
acquaintance, we should feel that we had done a work
to be proud of.

We may say at once that this new book of Sir John's
is one of the most interesting, most helpful, healthiest
books we have read for some time past.

These are a few notes struck here and there

1 Figaro, 25.10.94.
VOL. II B

34 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

from the chorus of praise, which may give a
general idea of the tune.

But in spite of his remark, noted above, that
the Hterary world was a little contemptuous of the
book, he had some pleasant appreciation from
high sources. Mr. Francis Galton writes that he
read the chapter on " Tact, being sorely conscious
of my own deficiency, three times over. So your
sunny wisdom has not been wasted on at least one
reader." Lord Salisbury says, " your interest-
ing book." Lord Dufferin speaks of it as " that
nice bright book, full of wisdom conveyed in so
genial a form." Cardinal Vaughan says, " your
interesting volume, full of thought and suggestion
and a storehouse of valuable quotations."

Professor Huxley's letter of acknowledgment
is sufficiently amusing and characteristic to be
worth quotation at its own brief length.

HODESLEA, StAVELEY RoAD,

Eastbourne, Oct. 11, 1894.

My dear Lubbock — Many thanks for your new
volume which has just reached me.

I am very sorry that my jesting forecast to Lady
Lubbock has been verified — at present I am creeping
about as well as a sharp attack of lumbago will let me,
but for the most part horizontal — I wish there was a
herd of swine for that devil to go into — only to be sure
they would not be able to rush violently anywhere or do
anything but grunt — at least that is my experience. —
Ever yours very truly, T. H. Huxley.

Baron Tauchnitz at once requested permission
to print the book in his series.

The following letter, from a native of India
with whom he had previously corresponded, has
a special interest :

AT HOME AND ABROAD 35

Tbavancore, South India,
26 May /85.

Esteemed Sir — I have just finished reading your
latest book — The Use of Life, and I write to express my
great admiration of its style and contents.

It is an encyclopaedia of wise and good thoughts. It
is interesting and instructive from beginning to end.

Yes, " the best books are the cheapest " (p. 127).
Quite true. And the books which you have written —
though not included in your 100 Books, are surely among
the best books of the English language. I have derived
from them all the pleasure and profit so well described
by you in the chapters on " Libraries " and " Reading."

As an Indian, I must say that we are grateful to you
for your sympathetic thoughts about India. The
British Government in India is not only respected — but
deeply loved — so I beg to assure you that your appre-
hension " that we are loved in India cannot perhaps be
maintained " (p. 151) is " unfounded."

The English rule in India is the noblest, the wisest
and the best that India has ever seen. In this view all
are agreed — both Princes and Peasants, the educated
and the ignorant. The ancient Governments of India
never came up to the ideal of the British Government.
I am touched profoundly by some of the phrases you
have so generously employed in the Chapter on
" Patriotism," as for instance, where you write — " our
honest effort and desire has been to govern India for the
benefit of the people of India. We may have made
mistakes there as we have made mistakes at home."
Quite true. It appears to me that the expenditure of
administering and protecting India, and the heavy taxes
are two of the big items of Indian Rule which have not
received sufficient attention of the Statesmen at home.
These are capable of improvement ; so we educated
natives honestly think with regard to the proportion of
taxes, though perhaps the British Indian Government
does not levy more than the Native Rajahs of old.
There is much difference in the actual collection of the
ryots' dues.

The British Government does it with a scientific
precision and punctuality unknown in former days.

With the old Rajahs there was less exactitude, and
more consideration shown for a variety of grounds — so

36 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

the ryot somehow managed to escape the full measure
of tax. All this is about the Land tax. This would be
I think a good reason for lowering the Government's
proportion of the produce of the soil.

In the administration of Native States we combine
the enlightenment and justice of British Rule with the
spirit of conciliation and consideration to rank and
position which a Native Government can so easily
understand and which our population so well appreciate.
If the spirit of charity and generosity which pervades
your book guides our English Statesmen in the manage-
ment of Indian affairs, that is all that we want.

I thank you for your kind letter of the 14th December
last.

I have sometimes been asked by other authors,
possibly animated by a Uttle gentle jealousy,
" How did Sir John Lubbock manage to get his
books translated into so many languages ? "
The answer is a very simple one : " By writing
books that were sure of a popularity in all
languages." I have before me, regarding this
particular little book, the Use of Life, appli-
cations, certainly unsought by Sir John, for
permission to translate into Spanish, Russian,
French, Gujerati, Urdu, Marathi, — " I am quite
sure," says the last applicant, " our Marathi
population vidll feel indebted to you if you grant
my request " ; as a matter of fact there were
several candidates for the permission of transla-
tion into this dialect, — Egyptian and so on ; and
the similar applications for the right of transla-
tion of some of his other books, such as the
Pleasures of Life, have been noticed already.

The recipe, therefore, for attaining this wide
translation is easy, for writers of books — they
have but to write such as shall be universally
popular.

XXVII AT HOME AND ABROAD 87

The following letters from Lord Milner refer
to the London Society for the Extension of
University Teaching. Sir John accepted the
Presidency and retained the position until, in
1902, the Society was merged in the University
of London. The letters are worthy of quotation
for their lucid exposition of the purposes of the
Society.

47, Duke Street, St. James's, S.W.,
29.11.94.

Dear Sir John Lubbock — I am addressing you at
the request of the Council of the London Society for the
Extension of University Teaching. Mr. Goschen, who
has done many years of invaluable service for the Society,
and has seen it grow from quite small beginnings into
a really important educational movement, is retiring
from the Presidency, which he has held since 1877.
This decision, which is due entirely to private reasons,
and which in view of the great amount of work which
Mr. Goschen has done for the Society, the Council feel
that they ought not to seek to alter, nevertheless leaves
them in a somewhat difficult position, as it is no small
matter to find a successor of equal public eminence.

The Council would be unanimous in welcoming you
as their President, if you felt able to undertake that
position. They have hesitated to approach you, in view
of the importance and multiplicity of the public enter-
prises with which your name is already associated.
But they believe that, if they could secure the immense
advantage of having you as the head of the Society,
arrangements might be made to relieve you of the burden
of all the details of the work. The Council has several
hard-working members of great practical capacity, like
Canon Burnett, Canon Browne, Mr. Brooke Lambert,
Mr. Mocatta and others, and there would be no difficulty
in appointing an Acting Chairman to preside at the
ordinary Council Meetings, leaving only the important
public meetings and the decision of important questions
of policy to make any demands upon the time and energies
of the President.

The Council hope that, even if you do not see your

38 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

way to accepting this offer, you will at least not reject
it absolutely without giving me and the very able and
active Secretary of the Society, Dr. Roberts, an oppor-
tunity of putting the matter before you in a personal
interview. Even if you were finally unwilling to take up
the position of President or to associate yourself in any
way with the Society, there are certain matters of im-
portance, in connection with the development of higher
education in London, with regard to which we should
be grateful to have, in confidence, the benefit of your
advice. The Council think that they may venture to
appeal to you to this extent, not only as Member for the
University of London, but on account of your personal
position as a scientific and educational authority of the
greatest eminence.

If you were willing to see me and Dr. Roberts, we
would call upon you at any time and place most con-
venient to you, except on Wednesday next, the 5th,
and would not detain you more than twenty minutes
or so. — Believe me, yours very truly,

Alfred Milnek.

The Rt. Hon. Sir John Lubbock.

47, Duke Street, St. James's, S.W.,
Dec. 7th, 04.

Dear Sir John Lubbock — Roberts kindly came to
see me after his interview with you yesterday, and he
was here again this morning to tell me about what had
happened at the subsequent meeting of the Council.

The Council were, of course, extremely pleased to
hear that there was a hope of your taking the Presidency.
Personally, I think this would be of such importance to
us, that, at the risk of being a bore, I venture to add one
or two words to what I have already said — rather with
the view of putting you into more complete possession
of all the relevant facts. . . .

A point of importance is, that the Council have asked
Canon Browne of St. Paul's to take the acting chairman-
ship of the Council, and that, as I am privately informed,
he will accept. This is very material, for Browne is
familiar with the work (he was for years head of the
Cambridge University Extension system) and he is an
able, popular and most hard-working man.

The conduct of the ordinary current business, is,

XXV.. AT HOME AND ABROAD 39

therefore, in very strong hands, and all we want now is
the right sort of public man as President to make our
prospects look bright.

Of course, there is always a fight for money. We
need £1500 a year to carry on our work, and we could
do with another £500 to further develop it. So far we
have always succeeded in making two ends meet, but it
has been by perpetually keeping ourselves in evidence,
and by interesting the City Companies. On the whole,
it is easier now than formerly to do this, because we are
a bigger body, and have more prestige. But it needs a
little generalship. — Yours very sincerely,

A. MiLNER.

Sir John had for some years been a member
of the Imperial Federation League, and was
Chairman of the City Branch. Quite unex-
pectedly—by him at least — the Council issued a
circular recommending the dissolution of the
league. This course was opposed by the City
branch and some others, but at a general meeting
was carried by a bare majority. The minority
then determined, at a meeting held at Sir John's
house, to found a new organisation, and he was
authorised to write to the Duke of Devonshire,
asking him to accept the Presidency.

High Elms, Fabnborough,
19 December 1894.

My dear Duke of Devonshire — I do not know
whether it will be in your recollection that last summer
the Council of the Imperial Federation League by a
majority of one decided to close. It has always been
a question whether that was legal without a general
meeting.

However this may be, the City branch which opposed
the winding up, is anxious to start a new body with
similar objects. It is not expected that much practical
legislation can be effected, but it is thought desirable
to keep up the flag of Unity and to show our desire to
maintain the integrity of the Empire.

40 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

The enclosed has been signed, as you will see, by the
late Lord Mayor, the City Members, and the most
prominent men in the City of all parties — in fact, I
believe, there has not been a single refusal. The present
Lord Mayor has promised the Mansion House for a
Meeting, and will take the Chair.

I enclose the rules, which, however, arc only pro-
visional, and have been asked to write and enquire if
you would accept the Presidency.

The Chairman of the Council would preside at the
Council meetings, but we hope the President would
attend the Annual Meeting.

If there are any other points, I should be very glad to
come and see you.

It seems important that the Colonies should not
imagine that there is on our part any lukewarmness as
to the maintenance of the Union. Hoping that you
may see your way to accept. — I am, yours very sincerely,

J . L.

His Grace the Duke of Devonshire.

The qualities of common sense and caution by
which the late Duke of Devonshire w^on the con-
fidence of the nation are thoroughly displayed in
his reply :

Chatswobth, Chestebfield,
Dec. 21/94.

My dear Lubbock — I should like to see you about
the new Federation League, but I am afraid I shall not
be in London for some little time.

So far as I understand the constitution and rules of
the new League, it is proposed to drop all reference to
Federation, but the title is retained. The talk about
Federation has always seemed to be rather un-practical,
and it occurs to me that so long as the title is retained,
and the League consists of the same men, the speeches
at the General and other meetings would continue to be
of much the same character.

However, I should not like to decline without having
a talk with you. How soon do you think that a decision
is required ? — Yours very truly, Devonshike.

AT HOME AND ABROAD 41

The question seems to have been left thus
open for the moment, to be resumed in the
following spring.

In answer to some remarks that Sir John
made in a letter to M. Jules Simon — ^their general
tenor will be gathered from the reply — the
French statesman wrote :

Senat. Paris,
Le 31 dicembre 1893.

MoN CHER Sir John — II y a un point que je crois
pouvoir vous affirmer ; c'est qu'il n'y a aucune id^e
belliqueuse en France, ni contre I'Angleterre, ni contre
personne. Je croyais que I'enthousiasme exag^re des
fetes russes en etait la preuve. Nous avons cri6 " Vive
la Russie," mais nous n'avions au fond de la pensee
qu'un cri : Vive la paix ! On disait cette alliance
annulle la triple alliance. Nous ne sommes plus a la
mercie de nos ennemis. Voila tout. Quant a vouloir
guerroyer a present que nous avons des allies, rien n'est
plus loin de nous que cela.

Quand on dit cela a Berlin, on nous repond : " Eh
bien, dites franchement que vous renoncez pour jamais
a I'Alsace-Lorraine, et nous sommes vos ardents amis."

L'honneur ne nous permet pas de renoncer ; I'honneur
et la politique ne nous permettent pas de dire que nous
renonfons. Nous faisons la seule chose possible : nous
ajournons indefiniment toute revendication. Soyez sur
que c'est I'esprit de la nation dans son immense g^n6ralit6.

Je pourrais vous dire que nous augmentons notre
marine parce que les Italiens et les Allemands prennent
les devants. Cette raison est bonne ; mais on demandait
des ameliorations dans la marine depuis plusieurs annees.
Elles 6taient necessaires, non pas meme pour augmenter,
mais pour ne pas laisser deperir. Nous avons d'ailleurs
avec I'extreme Orient et avec Madagascar et avec le
centre Afrique des rapports nouveaux qui a eux seuls
donnent la raison de nos armements. II n'est pas
douteux d'ailleurs que des conventions peuvent valoir
des vaisseaux de guerre.

L' importance de votre question depende uniquement
de la reponse qui vous sera faite, c'est vous seul qui

42 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK

CH. XXVII

pouvez etre juge de I'opportunite. Je suis bien sur que
tout ce qui viendra de vous tendra a la paix ; je ne sais
pas ce qui le dira de I'autre cot6. Mais je repute en
finissant que la France veut la paix ; president, ministres,
chambres, armie. — Profondement a vous,

Jules Simon.

CHAPTER XXVIII

RE-ELECTION FOR LONDON UNIVERSITY (1895)

(Age 61)

As soon as Parliament met in the New Year Sir
John again brought in the Early Closing of Shops
Bill. It was read a second time without opposi-
tion on February 19, and referred to a Select
Committee, which took a good deal of evidence,
and reported in its favour on April 21. Owing to
obstruction by a few members who were opposed
to it he was not able to get an opportunity of
bringing it on for third reading.

On January 28 he notes, " skated with the
children." His next entry is February 5. " Very
cold. The pond has been a great amusement,
and the children are getting on capitally with
their skating. We came up to St. James'
Square."

The pond, about the digging of which there are
several previous notices, continued to be a great
success and source of entertainment both in winter
and summer. The first specimens of that gay fish
the orfe — like a larger and glorified gold-fish — ^that
I ever saw were in that pond, or, rather in those
ponds, for there was a little series of them. It

43

44 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

was Sir John's amusement every morning, after
breakfast, to walk down to them — ^they lay at a
lower level than the house at about two hundred
yards' distance — with chunks of bread from the
breakfast table to feed the fish. There were several
gold-fish, and a few perch and other kinds too,
but the orfes were the conspicuous people. There
were walks round and among the ponds, and their
banks were planted with bamboos and water-
loving flowers and shrubs, some of them rare,
and of bright foliage and blossom. He writes in
May of this year : " Have been arranging the
pond, putting in fish — ^three gold-fish, two carp
and two golden orfes and water plants." From
time to time he made additions to the aquatic
population. He was always keenly interested in
enriching either the fauna or the flora of Great
Britain by the acclimitisation of foreign species,
nor was he less zealous for giving adequate pro-
tection to any of our native kinds that were
threatened with extinction. He was an eager
supporter, for many years, of the objects of the
Selborne Society, as well as of that excellent
institution itself.

Many of his friends on the London County
Council were anxious that he should resume the
chairmanship, and the invitation was conveyed
to him in a complimentary letter from the Duke
of Norfolk.

The reply indicates some of Sir John's motives
for declining, and it is worth notice that a desire
to have leisure for science is named among
them.

LONDON UNIVERSITY

45

2, St. James's Square, S.W.,
ath March 1895.

My dear Dukk of Nokfolk — I am very sensible of
the honour done me by my colleagues in wishing me
to resume the chair of the L.C.C.

In the present state of things, however, I feel that
the Chairmanship ought, if possible, to be a matter of
arrangement.

Beachcroft thought indeed that the Progressives,
or at any rate the majority, would accept me as Chair-
man, and such a mandate might be difficult to resist,
but I took so active a part in the contest, and have,
however unjustly, been so much attacked in the Radical
press, that they, I believe, on the contrary would
resent my election as an aggravation of their dis-
comfiture.

It is very important in the interests of the Council,
and for the harmony of our proceedings, that even if
we cannot agree on a Chairman, he should not be a
" red rag " to either side.

I say this in the interests of the Council, but I must
add that having devoted two years to the Chairmanship,
I feel I have done my duty to London, and am anxious
to have some time for my scientific work.

I fear, therefore, that I must definitely ask to be
excused, and write at once without waiting for to-
morrow, as time is so short.

Let me say once more how much I was gratified by
the invitation, and by the kind expressions uttered
towards me. — I am, yours sincerely, J. Lubbock.

The varied nature of Sir John Lubbock's
correspondence vsras curious. Immediately follow-
ing the above I find a letter from Mr. Herbert
Spencer enquiring where, in his books, may be
found information on the following point : " The
gods are conceived by many uncivilized peoples
as very stupid and easily deceived by sham
sacrifices. I have remembrance somewhere of
a case in which it was said by the people that
their god So-and-So was stupid, or something of

46 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

that kind ; and that for this reason they deluded
him." Mr. Spencer says that, not finding it in
Tylor, he concludes it must be in Sir John's
writings.

It was in the spring of this year that the
negotiations for the formation of the British
Empire League, mentioned in the last chapter,
were brought to a head. In the first instance Sir
John had been pressed to accept the Presidency,
but thought that it ought to be held by some one
in high official position, and that the Duke of
Devonshire would be the right man in the right
place. The Duke's objection to the word " Feder-
ation," appearing in the title of the original league,
has already been noticed.

On April 16 Sir Robert Herbert writes :

My dear Lubbock — I have received from Mr.
Freeman Murray a proof of the Imperial Federation
League Reconstruction scheme, which I am considering,
and as to which I hope before long to give you my
more definite opinion for what it may be worth.

My present impression is that a new departure would
have a better prospect of success than any galvanizing
of the defunct " Imperial Federation League." A good
many men have (often for no clear reason) declared
themselves opposed to " Imperial Federation " : some
sniff at the word " Imperial " : others (I am perhaps
one) do not believe actual political " federation " of
this country with Greater Britain to be desirable or
feasible.

Would not the movement go better at the present
time if it were more distinctly to purport to start from
the late Ottawa Conference, as a new organization, and
under a new name ? The draft " Constitution " does
in fact adopt the Ottawa Programme. A new name
is, of course, a most difficult point. What I grope
helplessly for is something like " The British Empire
Union " — explaining it to be for " Commerce and
Defence."

xxvni LONDON UNIVERSITY 47

To most of the " Constitution " I can subscribe ;
but much as I should like to be able to swallow (C), I
hardly think I can at present get it down, if it is the
case that the adoption of the first par. of it would mean
risking the loss of possibly a great part of the £260,000,000
of British Export Trade to Foreign Countries, without
thereby securing the retention of even the present
Britisii Export Trade (£93,000,000) to the Colonies.

Although, however, I may not be able to advocate
the modification etc. I could of course " consider the
operation of such portions " etc. — Yours very truly,

Robert G. N. Herbert.

A month later the Duke of Devonshire writes
to Sir John, still hesitating whether to accept the
Presidency, but virtually consenting, under pres-
sure to do so, and proposing " Colonial Associa-
tion " or " Imperial and Colonial Association "
as titles for that which was eventually named the
" British Empire League."

Sir John replied :

\Sth May 1895.

My dear Duke of Devonshire — We are all most
anxious to have you as President, and would save you
almost all trouble.

Sir R. Herbert has kindly consented in that case to
act as Chairman of the Council.

Our friends are very anxious to be having the meeting.
Might I say that subject to the acceptance of Sir R.
Herbert's susrgestions you would accept the Presidency ?

We could then call a meeting and come to you with
the final draft.

The Lord Mayor would then call a meeting at the
Mansion House, where I am sure you would receive an
Ovation ; though it is not necessary that the President
should attend, if you would prefer to be selected in your
absence. — I am, yours very sincerely, J. Lubbock.

His Grace, the Duke of Devonshire.

And the matter was at length settled by the
Duke's assent, thus briefly given :

48 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK en.

Bolton Abbey, Skipton,
May 24,th, 1895.

My dear Lubbock — If you cannot find another
President I will accept provisionally, if they will take
Sir R. Herbert's suggestions, but I shall hope to be
relieved before long.

I shall be back in London on Monday, and shall
no doubt hear from you as to the proposed Mansion
House meeting. — Yours sincerely, Devonshire.

The movement finally resulted in the formation
of the League v^^ith the Duke of Devonshire as
President, Sir R. Herbert as Chairman of the
Council, and Sir John as Treasurer. The Queen
became Patron, and after the Jubilee many
prominent Colonial Statesmen associated them-
selves with it. Canada, under the guidance of
Colonel Sanderson and Mr. Tupper, gave prompt
and most cordial support.

Pressure was then put on Sir John to accept
the chairmanship of the Council of the League,
but he did not wish to allow any further claims on
his time, and his objection to the multiplication
of Committees confirmed him in a disinclination
to take the post.

On June 21 he went with Sir M. Grant Duff
and Mr. Hanbury to Teesdale, on a botanical
expedition, but had scarcely got there when they
were all startled by the announcement that Mr.
Gladstone had resigned, and that Parliament was
to be dissolved at once.

His seat at the University was threatened
on two sides. Firstly by those who were anxious
as to the establishment of a so-called Teaching
University, and considered that he was not
sufficiently in harmony with their ideas ; and on

xxv.ii LONDON UNIVERSITY 49

the other side by those who wished to maintain
the existing order of things, and were afraid that
he sympathised too much with the other side.

Sir Michael Foster was one of his friends who
urged him to modify his original address to the
electors and not to make so strong a point of
giving to Convocation the veto on any proposal
of the Royal Commission which had been
appointed to look into the whole question of
reconstitution of the University.

Sir John did not feel, however, that he could
depart from the terms of his address, and Sir
M. Foster, true to his promise, supported him
loyally, as also did Sir J, Fitch, and indeed all
the Vice-Presidents of his Committee.

Some of his other old supporters and friends
were less amenable. Every effort was indeed
made, but ineffectually, to find some rival Candi-
date. Sir W. Thiselton Dyer and Prof. S.
Thompson were especially keen in opposition.
Both attacked his view in Nature, and the
latter also in the following letters.

MORLAND, ChISLETT RoAD,

W. Hampstead, N.W., July 2nd.

Dear Sir John Lubbock — I have received to-day
a copy of your Election Address, and am glad that you
take the reasonable view that the Gresham Scheme, with
safeguards, will meet every reasonable requirement
without injuring the present work of the University.

But I am, I must confess, amazed that you should
■without qualification, have indicated your disposition to
oppose the Reconstitution Bill, unless it contains a
clause which would obviously prevent any independent
or self-respecting man from serving on the Royal Com-
mission.

Do you suppose any first-rate man would serve on a
Commission, to hear and weigh claims and settle con-

VOL. 11 E

50 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

flicting interests, and adjust differences with care and
judgment, if he knew that his most careful judgment
was Hable to be upset by the vote of a lot of provincial
graduates, who had never heard the evidence, and had
no real means of judging ? The thing is too absurd.
No Parliament would ever put the vote of Convocation
above the authority of Parliament in such a way. An
appeal to the Privy Council (who would hear and weigh
evidence) would be quite reasonable, and in accordance
with precedents. But such a clause as you propose
would be both unconstitutional and against all pre-
cedents. Can you not, before it is too late, recall or
modify the phrase you have used ? It commits you
to a quite untenable position, and exposes you to
ridicule.

I write in haste in hopes of being able to do you a
service thereby. — Yours most sincerely,

SiLV. P. Thompson.

The Right Hon. Sir John Lubbock, F.R.S., M.P.
Sir John replied :

Srd July.

My dear Silvanus Thompson — Your letter reached
me just as I was coming out last night.

I am glad that we agree on so many points, and
sorry that you feel so strongly against a reference to
Convocation.

I can hardly think, however, that this would be
so impracticable as you suppose, indeed I understand
that it has been actually suggested by Lord Salisbury.

Surely it is natural that the graduates should wish
to be consulted in a matter so vitally affecting their
own University ? — I am, yours sincerely, J. L.

But Professor Thompson sticks gallantly to
his guns.

July 4ith, MoKLAND, Chislett Road,

W. Hampstead, N.W.

Dear Sir John Lubbock — Pray do not mistake the
issue. I am not opposed to a reference to Convocation ;
on the contrary I worked hard last year to obtain it.
But what I say and say emphatically is that the pro-
posal to make the reference to Convocation after instead

xxvni LONDON UNIVERSITY 51

of before the judicial decisions of a Statutory Commission
is absurd. I must be allowed to doubt entirely whether
Lord Salisbury ever suggested anything so foolish. Is
it not evident that if the decisions of the Commission
who would sit to hear and weigh evidence were liable
to be upset by a post-card vote of graduates at large
who had never heard the evidence, no person of any
standing would ever consent to serve in such a capacity.
The proposal is simply fatal to the authority of the
judicial body proposed as a Commission. It is most
deplorable that you have not seen this before your
circular letter was sent out. The absurdity of it must
be painful to many who would otherwise have supported
you. Let me again urge you before it is too late to
modify the words that seem to commit you to so un-
tenable a position. — I am, yours most sincerely,

SiLVANUs P. Thompson.

The Right Hon. Sir John Lubbock, M.P., F.R.S.
Sir John was quite immovable.

Gth July 1895.

My dear Silvanus Thompson — The issue seems to
me simple enough.

You desire in the present case to abrogate the existing
right of veto possessed by Convocation because in your
judgment the Commission will make a wise scheme,
and Convocation will unwisely reject it.

Surely it is natural that I, as their Member, should
desire to protect the rights of my Constituents, and
that I should have confidence that they will exercise
their right wisely and well. — I am, yours very sincerely,

J. Lubbock.

Professor Silvanus Thompson.

Some very heavy artillery vi^as then brought up
to attack his position,

July 6th, 1895.

Dear Sir John Lubbock — The interests of learning
and education are so closely bound up with the future
development of the University of London, that we
hope you will not regard us as interfering between
yourself and the Electing Body of the University if

52 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

we venture to express our regret at some of the opinions
you have put forward in your election address.

You state that you would " do your best to secure,
that the scheme (for the re-organisation of the University)
when arranged should be submitted to Convocation
for their approval, to be signified as at a Senatorial
Election, and would oppose the Bill unless this were
conceded."

You must allow us to point out that this proposal
would confer upon Convocation a right which is with-
out precedent, to supervise the Acts of a Commission
entrusted with the re-organisation of the University
of which Convocation itself is a part.

The scheme of the " Gresham Commissioners " has
been approved not only by all the institutions concerned
but by the great body of educated public opinion. It
is, however, certain that very great difficulties will
arise if the ultimate fate of the scheme is to depend upon
the voting papers of Convocation.

We, therefore, believe that the proposal you support,
if adopted, will result in the failure of another attempt
to establish a teaching University in London, and will
indefinitely postpone the solution of a question which
after prolonged discussion seemed to be on the eve of
settlement. — We are, yours faithfully,

Kelvin, P., R.S.

John Evans, Treas., R.S.

M. Foster, Sec, R.S.

Joseph Lister.

Rayleigh.

Douglas Galton.

T. G. Bonney.

T. E. Thorpe.

Horace Lamb.

j. h. poynting.

Arthur W. Rucker.

E. Frankland.

N. Story Maskelyne.

Henry E. Roscoe.

P. H. Pye Smith.

j. norman-lockyer.

John Eric Erichsen.

William Ramsay.

G. Carey Foster.

xxvm LONDON UNIVERSITY 53

Sir John Lubbock then wrote the following
letter to Professor Rucker, in reply to the fore-
going addressed to him by the President and some
other members of the Royal Society :

2, St. James's Square, S.W.,
9th July 1895.

My dear Rucker — I am sorry I could not imme-
diately answer the letter which you have forwarded to
me on behalf of Lord Kelvin and other members of the
Royal Society, but I only received it this morning as
I was away from home. I observe that most of those
who have signed it are (as they themselves say) not
members of Convocation, and consequently not con-
stituents of mine. Still, I should welcome any oppor-
tunity of co-operation with such high authorities in the
promotion of those interests which we all have at heart.
I regret, however, that before publishing the letter they
did not give me an opportunity of conferring with them,
in which case, I think, I could have given good reasons
for what I have said in my letter to Professor Foster.
I am glad to observe that the only point objected to
is the reference of any new charter to Convocation.
In this, however, I am not asking that any privilege
which they do not at present possess should be con-
ferred on my constituents, but only supporting what
is now their legal right. As the law now stands no
change can be made in the " charter without the consent
of the graduates." This right I know they highly
value, and it is surely natural that, as their representa-
tive, I should do my best to preserve it. Moreover, in
view of the difficulty of passing a bill strongly opposed,
as any bill would be which seeks to abrogate the present
right of veto possessed by Convocation, I can imagine
nothing more likely to wreck any scheme such as you
desire than to link it, quite unnecessarily, with an
attack on that right. Your objection to the reference
to Convocation implies the belief that a Statutory Com-
mission would arrange a wise charter for the Univer-
sity, and that the graduates would reject it. But
why should it be assumed that they would do so ? It
has been my proud boast that I represent a con-
stituency second to none in education and ability, and

54 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

I am sure you will not, on reflection, be surprised if
I have every confidence that when any new charter is
submitted to my constituents they will exercise the
rights well and wisely, and with an earnest wish to
further the interests of learning and education. — I am,
yours very sincerely, John Lubbock.

The conclusion of the matter appears to have
been a gradual cessation of the opposition, and in
the end Sir John was returned again, unopposed.

In course of the election he went down to
Cornwall, in response to an earnest appeal from
Mrs. Courtney, to speak at Fowey and at Liskeard
for Mr. Leonard (now Lord) Courtney, whose seat
was being fiercely assailed.

Whenever he could spare the time he en-
joyed a game of golf, and could generally manage
a full day's play without fatigue. " Two rounds
of golf at Mitcham, with Beaumont," he writes.
We also find him driving over to Chislehurst with
Lady Lubbock to play golf with Mr. and Mrs.
Hambro.

In March he had been re-elected to the Chair-
manship of the Council of Foreign Bondholders,
" consented to re-election until the end of the
year " as his diary has it. In point of fact, how-
ever, he continued President of the Council until
the year 1898, when he resigned, but again ac-
cepted the Presidency two years later and held
it until his death. In regard to this, Sir C.
Fremantle, the Deputy-Chairman, told me that it
was with the most unfeigned gratitude that he
welcomed the re-election, for the value of the
counsel, never failing in readiness and shrewd-
ness, on which he was then able to draw. Sir
John himself notes, at the end of the present year,

xxvni LONDON UNIVERSITY 55

that Sir C. Fremantle's appointment as deputy,
to see to the Committee work, will take much of
the work off his shoulders.

On August 20 he went with Lady Lubbock and
all the four children to Switzerland, where they
made their headquarters at Zurich. A note of
August 24 says, " With Ursula, Dr. Muhlberg and
his son Max to see the moraines at Mellingen.
Very interesting."

Interesting too, to any who would wish to see
Sir John in the light of his home surroundings,
is the companionship of his daughter Ursula in
this and other like expeditions from which, as
well as from his talk at home, she acquired a
love of the pursuits and studies in which he was
so zealous.

The following letter from Mr. Frederic Harrison
about his list of 100 books is suggestive. There
is a constant interest in comparing the opinions
of different men on a subject such as this on which
opinions could hardly be of very much value if
they did not differ.

38, Westbourne Terrace, W.,
19 November 1895.

My dear Lubbock — I am grateful for the two parts
of the Pleasures of Life — to which you have added — I-
have, in fact, both parts in the original issue. But I
have left them with other books down in my house on
the Blackdown, and when speaking at Bishopsgate I
could not lay my hands on anything more recent than
your Contemporary Review article of 1886. Curiously
enough, I anticipated some of the changes which you
have made — e.g. withdrawing Heine (as untranslatable)
do. do. Lucretius, and also Southey — adding Byron
(I say also Manfred) and Tennyson, now he is gone.
I also would give most of Scott's longer poems for one
of his shorter novels. I have a suggestion to make,

56 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

should you ever revise your list. I would have a single
volume of Lyrics, to include Milton's, Burns', Scott's,
Gray's and Shelley's. Palgrave's Golden Treasury nearly
does this — but it ought to include Shelley's Prometheus.

The only serious criticism I could make as to your
poets and novelists is the omission of all Shelley, and
of Tom Jones and Jane Eyre.

If you had a volume of English Lyrics, there are
many very good collections, you would save 4 or 5
authors, for Gray's Elegy would go in any collection,
and so would Scott's Songs and Burns' best.

As to Dryden, he was a fine man, but I fear that
courtesy to H.R.H. swayed you. Query if H.R.H.
ever read more of Dryden than "glorious John's" glorious
burst — In the good days, etc., etc.,

When man on many multiplied his kind,
Ere one to one was cursedly confined.

I always thought that the Positivist Catechism was
not a good book for such a list. But I should like to
know why you omit it. I think the Generalities of
Positivism would answer far better, and should be in.

Altogether I think your last list much improved,
and now is nearly as good as can be. All readers differ,
but I am glad to note how closely you and I agree.

I add a short note of one or two suggestions that I
should have liked you to consider. — Believe me, very
sincerely yours, Frederic Harrison.

100 Books
Section I. — Religion and Philosophy —

Re-insert Comte — but replace the Catechism by his
Generalities, a short sketch in 300 pp., containing
none of his scientific fallacies and none of his mere
ritualism.

Omit Keble's Christian Year, which is feeble as poetry.
In lieu, have some good hymns in the Volume
of Lyrics or even a sacred selection like Lord
Selbourne's or others.

All the rest — excellent.

Section II. — Add Ethics to Politics in same volume.

xxvni LONDON UNIVERSITY 57

Section III. — Poetry —

Add The Cid — Southey's volume with poems. This

is essential.
Omit if necessary Sakuntala.
Omit Hesiod as not great poetry.
Aristophanes ? Add Frogs (even if Clouds be omitted).
Horace. Sir T. Martin's two volumes, translations

and Essays an admirable picture of the later

Roman world.
Dryden's Poems. Substitute Shelley.
Scott — • Lyrics '\
liurns do. .Qnly in a collection in one volume.

Tennyson do. j

Byron. Add Manfred and (?) Cain.

Shakespeare. Select 15, but omit Historical Plays,

except Henry IV. and Julius Caesar.
Add Calderon — at least Mayor of Zalamea, Life is a

Dream. Both by FitzGerald.
• Corneille. CidPolyeacte u^ ^^^ -^ ^^^^^^
? Racme. Athalie Phedre j "

Moli^re. Select 4 or 5 only.
Omit Schiller and Sheridan.
Carlyle. All Miscellaneous Essays, Past and Present,

Heroes, Sartor.
Omit Smiles.
History ?—

Insert Voltaire. Siicle de Louis XIV.
? The Middle Ages — where are they ? ? Milman.
Omit Emerson.

Insert Voltaire. Essai sur les mceurs.
Fiction —

? Voltaire. Add Candide. The great desideratum is

Tom Jones.
Thackeray. Esmond not Pendennis.
Kingsley. Omit.
C. Bronte. Insert Jane Eyre.
G. Eliot. Add Silas Marner.
Scott. The great desideratum is a selected List.

Choose not more than 14. Omitting all later

than 1825.
Add Emma and (?) Coningsby.

F. H.

Nov. 1895.

58 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK

CH. XXVIII

Some of the Bimetallists showed a disposition
to go rather far back in history to search for
precedents in support of their theories, and
claimed that bimetaUism in the modern sense
was in vogue in the ancient civihsations of Assyria
and Babylonia. Sir John believed that there was
no historical evidence of this, and consulted Mr.
Wallis Budge, the high authority at the British
Museum, on the question. Mr. Budge replied
that there was nothing, so far as he was aware, in
the wording of any of the Babylonian or Assyrian
tablets to imply that there was any right on part
of the debtor to substitute payment in silver, in
lieu of gold or vice versa. The metal in which
payment was to be made was specified in each
case.

Sir John's final note for the year in the diary
is that he has his book on the Scenery of Switzer-
land complete in MS.

CHAPTER XXIX

"the scenery of Switzerland" (1896)

(Age 62)

Mingled with records of meetings of scientists or
financiers there are many entries in Sir John
Lubbock's diaries such as the following, showing
his sympathy with all that his children took part
in : — " January 6. The children acted in a little
play at the Hambros — at least Ursula and Irene.
Ursula was the Beast, and then the young
prince, and Irene was Fatima (Beauty). They
really did it capitally."

Mr. and Mrs. Hambro, with their family, lived
at no great distance — some three or four miles or
so — from High Elms, at Hayes Place, and were
close friends of Sir John and Lady Lubbock.

Five days after the Beauty and Beast play at
Hayes Place there was a children's party, as his
diary also informs us, at High Elms, on the
occasion of Lady Lubbock's birthday ; and a
week later they were at Eastbourne, guests at a
small house which Mr. Hambro had there. They
played golf, and Sir John writes, on the Monday,
" Home, after two very pleasant days."

On February 23 he was at Liverpool dining

69

60 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

with his colleagues of the British and Foreign
Marine Insurance Company. On the 24th he had
an Early Closing meeting at 11, in the Town Hall,
presided over by the Lord Mayor (Lord Derby) and
afterwards a meeting of the British and Foreign
Marine. At 3 he gave an address to the Liver-
pool Chamber of Commerce on Bimetalhsm ; at
5 he had a conference with the Liverpool Con-
ciliation Board ; and in the evening dined with
the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce — a fairly
full day, yet only typical of his energy !

On the 29th he took part in a meeting at the
Mansion House to inaugurate the British Empire
League, to which reference has been made in
former chapters.

Parliament met early in February. He brought
in the Early Closing Bill at the beginning of
the Session. It was read a second time without
opposition and referred to the Grand Committee
on Trade, through which it passed before the
end of March, with only a few trifling verbal
amendments. There were only some five or six
opponents, who were however very pertinacious,
and by using the forms of the House they again
prevented him from getting the Bill through the
final stages.

At this period he was giving occasional lectures
on the yet unpublished Scenery of Switzerland.
The title is one that has misled a good many.
The book is descriptive of the Swiss scenery in a
number of its splendid manifestations, no doubt,
but it has besides, and more essentially, an under-
lying purpose — to demonstrate how the magni-
ficent effects have been produced by the geo-

XXIX " SCENERY OF SWITZERLAND " 61

logical happenings. The author reads sermons
out of these stones, glaciers, precipices, moun-
tains. It is that which gives the book vital
interest. He worked at his subject in the course
of very many tours, of which casual mention has
been made now and again, in this region, which
had a special charm for him. He enjoyed many
a long talk, as well as walk, with his friend, the
distinguished Swiss geologist. Dr. Heim, and
there are many letters preserved in his correspond-
ence which show that his indefatigable industry
did not shrink from any trouble which promised
to throw light on the more doubtful problems
presented by the subject. The minute character
of his enquiries may be inferred from the follow-
ing letters :

ZuBicH, Suisse,
8.2.1896.

My dear Sie John — Indeed there can be no doubt
the delta of the Liitsdime upon which Interlaken is
situated must have nearly 300 m. of thickness.

The Simplonprofil in the Livret-guide seems to me
not to be quite sure. I believe there is some exaggera-
tion in the folding. I was some time there, and always
regarded it as much more simple. But I am not in
the position to prove my doubts — I believe it to be
only so (a rough diagram here follows) : I found the
profil in the Livret-guide in such a degree uncertain,
that I would not give it in a book like yours — that's
my feeling.

The foliation of the gneisses is a very complex
phenomenon, and in many different manners it has been
developed.

In some gneisses the foliation may be caused by
primary sedimentation, in others by chemical change-
ments under the weight of the upper-lying rocks, in
others by both together.

In these two cases the foliation is first concordant
with the stratification and primarily horizontal.

62 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK oh.

The foliation can be a cleavage by pressure in another
direction, for instance by mountain-making, then its
direction is not necessarily the same as the direction of
the stratification ; it may disturb the stratification of the
older primary foliation in some cases, in other cases
adds itself to the first.

A great deal of the gneisses were Felsporphyrs and
Granites, which have got their foliation by pressure —
so also the Protogines. Most of the granites in the
Alps have got some foliation by pressure, and have
become Gneisses or Protogines. Only those which
were very resistant and surrounded with weaker material
have conserved their primary structure, as for instance,
the granites of Albula silver, and in some cases the
gneiss foliation may be fluidal texture of a granite. —
Believe me, yours very sincerely, Alb. Heim.

And again Dr. Heim writes :

The Lake of Geneva has its greatest depth — a
horizontal plain — between Morges, Evian, Tourroude
and Lausanne. The greatest depth = 309' 4 m. lies in
a line between Lausanne and Evian in the middle of
the lake. The surface of the Lake of Geneva is
582 km.2 + 36 hectaren.^

The quantity of water which it contains is
88,920,664,000 m.^ The research has been made for
the Swiss part by Ing. Hornlimann, for the French
part by Ing. Delebecque.

In the sequence of strata on the Glarnisch one finds
some middle limbs squeezed out into a very thin dis-
appearing sheet with thrust striated surfaces. On the
Silvern, which is the continuation, the squeezing out
did not go so far, and the bendings are not removed, but
easily to be seen. These are all intermedians between
overfold and overthrust — the begrinding was here —
I believe — always the fold. The thrust was the con-
sequence of exaggerating of the folds.

So it is not of principal value whether one speaks of
overthrusts or overfolds with squeezed -out middle

* 223 square miles is the measurement given by the Swiss Typo-
graphical Bureau. Professor Forel states it at 225J square miles
(Encyclopaedia Britannica).

XXIX "SCENERY OF SWITZERLAND" 63

limbs, just in this region you find all intermedians,
each on the direct continuation of the other.

At the time in which the Deltas were formed, indicat-
ing a somewhat higher level of the Lake of Ziirich (near
PfafFikan), the Walensee was not so high with its level
as now. On its ground about 10 to 12 m. below there
stands an old wood, the Pinus abies are upright.

The ground of the wood is just on the same level as
the older higher surface of the Lake of Zurich. The
lakes of Walenstadt, Ziirich and Constance were
(brought ?) all together by the submergence, and they
are only separated and the Walensee dammed up by
the delta of the South. This delta must have a thickness
of at least 140 m.

Quite the same thing is to be said for the land between
Brienzer and Thunner See. The diluvial and alluvial
deposit must have at least the thickness = the depth
of the lakes.

I hope I can send to you the next part of your manu-
script before the end of this week. I am very sorry that
I could not do it more quickly, but I have such plenty
of work which must be done that it was quite impossible
otherwise.

Amongst others w^hom he consulted were
Professor Geikie, Professor Bonney, Mr. Kenny-
Hughes, Mr. Sorby and others. The last had
made an elaborate table of the estimated pressure
at which the granites were cooled. He admits
that the assumption, by no means a necessary
one, which he adopted was that the temperature
of all was the same. Professor Geikie states that
he is by no means disposed to give up the
astronomical explanation of the Ice Age. It may
be remembered that exception had been taken to
Sir John's acceptance of this theory. Professor
Geikie states that he still deems that it supplies
the best explanation forthcoming of the major
climatic oscillations which marked the close of
the so-called Glacial Period and refers Sir John

64 LIFE OF Sm JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

to his Great Ice Age, chapter xUii. (ed. of
1892). He says that the criticisms levelled
against it have not shaken his faith in the theory,
and that it must stand or fall accordingly as it
explains or fails to explain the geological
evidence.

Incidentally, Mr. Kenny -Hughes very strongly
urges Sir John not to give up his view as to the
southward pointing promontories being the results
of continents plunging into deeper water on the
South. If the Northern Hemisphere was simi-
larly submerged, the great mountain ranges of
North America, the Urals and the Scandinavian
axis would, according to this geologist's view,
show their backbones above the water in just the
same way. He adds his belief that the solution
of all our difficulties in respect of climate and the
age of the earth will be found in the constancy
and intensity of earth movements, and that the
secret of the distribution of life lies in the con-
tinuity— not the permanence, but the " shifting
continuity " — of oceanic and continental areas.

Professor Bonney has a rather severe indict-
ment of the geological maps of Switzerland
extant at the time, which showed, amongst other
inaccuracies, no gneiss at all, where nmch gneiss
is, and so on. We have already seen Sir John
himself discovering nummulites in Swiss rock
which is ascribed to the Triassic period, and
which, on the evidence of the nummulites, must
needs be brought " up to date " to the Eocene.

The press reviews were very favourable to the
book. The only one which seems worth special
notice here is from the Revue Suisse, which is

xx.x " SCENERY OF SWITZERLAND " 65

particularly interesting on this daring essay of a

Briton to do justice to its native mountains.

Le genre litt^raire de Sir J. Lubbock est bien connu,
II a dcrit sur les plaisirs de la vie et autres sujets ana-
logues d'une mani^re si captivante que les lecteurs,
lorsqu'ils ont ouvert avec empressement son ouvrage
sur les Paysages de la Suisse, auront, je le crains, ^prouve
une rude deception en trouvant, au lieu de descriptions
anim^es et gracieuses, remplies d'allusions et de ren-
seignements instructifs, un lourd bagage g6ologique
expos6 de faQon assez aride, pour satisfaire le professeur
le plus m^ticuleux. Et, de fait, I'auteur nous a deja
donn6 tant d'ouvrages charmants, sinon originaux, que
nous oublions volontiers qu'avec ses talents varies
comme ceux d'Ulysse, il occupe la haute position de
membre de la Soci6t6 royale, et que, semblable au
fameux marteau-pilon de Nasmyth, il pent casser une
noix ou ^eraser une tonne d'acier avec la meme facility.
. . . Avant de prendre conge de I'auteur, peut-etre
cela vous interessera-t-il d'apprendre qu'il est le seul
homme de notre temps, si ce n'est de tous les si^cles qui
ait eu I'honneur d'etre canonist de son vivant. C'est
en effet grace k ses efforts que le Parlement a institu6
quatre jours de vacances par an pour les gens d'affaires ;
trois existaient deja : le lendemain de Noel, le lundi
de P&ques et celui de la Pentecote, mais la quatri^me,
qui est fixe au premier lundi d'aout, est uniquement
son ceuvre, et les employes de commerce reconnaissants
ne I'appellent plus que " la Saint Lubbock."^

Just a quarter of a century had elapsed since
the passing of that Bank Holiday Act, in con-
nection with which it is probable that the name
of Sir John Lubbock is still more closely associ-
ated in the minds of the great mass of the British
public than with any other act of his life, and the
editor of Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper wrote to him
asking for some expression of opinion on that
measure which probably every reader of the paper
appreciated as a personal blessing.

1 Revue Suisse, Nov. 1897.
VOL. II P

66 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

Sir John wrote :

Dear Sir — In reply to your enquiry I may say that
when I was first invited to stand for Pariiament I
naturally asked myself what I should do when I got
there. It seemed to me that I might hope to be of use
in Scientific and Commercial questions, and there were
three subjects on which I was especially anxious for
some alteration of the law. These were :

1. To secure a certain number of National Holidays.

2. To shorten the excessive hours of labour of Shop-
keepers and Shop-Assistants.

3. To preserve our ancient National Monuments.
The second of these objects has involved a long and

uphill struggle, and a whole generation of our country-
men and countrywomen have suffered, and too often
succumbed to, the terribly long hours of labour in
Shops. At last, however, we have reason to hope that
the Early Closing Bill will become law.

The third object was not accomplished without much
difficulty, but some years ago the Ancient Monuments
Act was passed ; it is hoped that in consequence of the
powers given in it but little wanton injury has since
been done.

The Bank Holiday Bill, on the contrary, met with
no opposition, and, as you remind me, has now been in
operation for a quarter of a century. Its easy passage
was, I believe, partly the result of an accident. On
the old holidays. Bills of Exchange are payable the day
previously, i.e. Sunday Bills on Saturday. We felt
that it would be difficult to extend this to the new
holidays, and after some consideration we determined
to propose that they should be payable the day after
instead of before. Hence, we had to devise some
special name for the new holidays, and we called them
Bank Holidays. If we had called our Bill the General
Holiday Bill, or the National Holiday Bill, I doubt
not it would have been opposed ; but the modest name
of " Bank Holiday " attracted no attention and roused
no opposition.

It is often said that the Bill was intended for Banks
only. This is quite a mistake. It expressly enacts
that no person shall be compellable to do anything on
a Bank Holiday which he could not be compelled to

xx.x « SCENERY OF SWITZERLAND " 67

do on Xmas day or Good Friday ; and personally I
have always expected that the first Monday in August,
coming as it does in the glory of summer, would eventu-
ally become the most popular holiday of the year. I
hope, and believe, the Bank Holidays have added to
the health and happiness of those for whose benefit
they were intended. — I am, your obedient servant,

John Lubbock.

It may be remembered that when first Sir John
went into Pariiament he proposed to himself just
those aims and ambitions which he reiterates here.
It is not given to many a man, however tenax
propositi, to accomphsh so large a measure of the
purpose with which he sets out.

On March 28 he started with Lady Lubbock
for the Riviera, staying first at Cap Martin, from
which he went to see Mr. Hanbury's beautiful
gardens at La Mortola. He notes that they fully
came up to the high expectations which he had
formed of them and that Mr. Hanbury informed
him that they contained above four thousand
varieties of plants. Then to Pegli to stay with
Mrs. Van Zandt. They returned by the St.
Gothard, and at Erstfeld he was much struck
by the difference in the outline of the Crystalline
and the Calcareous mountains.

In his diary of May 1 is an amusing entry.
He and Lady Lubbock had been for the " week-
end " at Taplow with Mr. and Mrs. Grenfell (now
Lord and Lady Desborough). Sir John notes :
" Back after a very pleasant Sunday — ^the Cob-
hams, C. Grenfells, Foxwell, M. Frewens, Somers.
Fripp and Senator Hoar. Mrs. Grenfell took the
Senator in a punt and did her best to amuse him.
He responded but little, but at last remarked,

68 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

' How pleasant this is ! One could go to sleep if
one was not disturbed ! ' " It is especially to
be remarked, to the credit of the lady's sense
of humour, that the observation was evidently
retailed by herself.

To readers of the French translation of the
Use of Life the following letter may be of interest
as explaining certain substantial differences be-
tween the French and English versions.

A 13 RUE BOISSONADE,

23rd May 1896.

Sir — Monsieur Alcan has probably informed you
that he has confided me the translation into French of
your book, the Use of Life. He requests me to give
you some account of the manner in which I have imder-
taken and executed my task. I do so with pleasure,
and trust that my explanations may meet with your
approval. The Use of Life is to be published in French
as a companion volume to the two which have already
appeared in Le Bonheur de Vivre in the BibliotKeque
de philosophie contemporaine, and cannot therefore
exceed the average length of the other volumes of the
series. In order to reduce the book within the limits
thus absolutely imposed on me, I have been obliged to
suppress a certain number of passages. But in every
case I have kept to certain principles which will, I hope,
justify in your eyes the nature of the suppressions
made. They are briefly as follows :

In the first place, I have invariably endeavoured to
respect as far as possible your text wherever it was
possible to do so. But certain passages, more peculiarly
written for an English public, were of a nature to diminish
rather than increase the utility and interest of the book
for the average French reader, whom I have constantly
kept before my eyes. Consequently I have suppressed :
in the text whatever it seemed to me necessary to reject
in order to prepare the book for a French public ; and
in the quotations such passages above all as were
either interesting on account of the quaint or charming
archaism of expressions impossible to preserve entirely
in French, or of secondary importance as matter, and

XXIX " SCENERY OF SWITZERLAND " 69

taken from authors entirely unknown in France, or
hardly classical even in England.

On the other hand, I have in no case (or very rarely),
suppressed or curtailed any essential development of
your text, save in one instance (Patriotism, which it
seemed impossible to keep in a book destined to be
read in France), or any quotation from the greater
writers of any nation. I have also retained all dicta
even of secondary writers which seemed to me either
peculiarly striking or suitable to the French reader.
And with regard to the Bible, the wisdom and poetry
of which are too little known among us, I have
endeavoured to preserve nearly everything you have
quoted, in all cases using the translation of the best
French Protestant Bible, in spite of the great loss of
time incurred, by searching for the chapter and verse
not indicated in your book.

I will not encroach upon your time by developing
at greater length my reasons for suppressing certain
other passages. I trust you will believe that I have in
all cases faithfully endeavoured to render your book
as acceptable as possible to a French public. Allow
me simply in conclusion to say what reasons Monsieur
Alcan and Monsieur Perivier had in trusting to my
judgment, and in considering me competent to under-
take my task. I am licencie ts lettres (M.A.) and
Agr^ge de I'Universit^. I write English and French
with equal ease, and have published articles in both
languages on questions of art, philology, etc. The
last article written in English appeared in the Century
Magazine for March 1895 under my signature. I have
also written in the Figaro, Revue hebdomadaire, etc.
You will, I trust, excuse my thus speaking of myself;
but Monsieur Alcan requested me to give you some
details of myself.

The proof sheets are now being submitted to me,
and will be sent to you as soon as corrected. May I
hope that the work I have undertaken to the best of
my ability will meet with your approval, under its
present shape, which is, I think, the most suitable for
a French reader, and such as the limits imposed on me
necessarily make it. — Believe me, sir, sincerely yours,

HovELAQUE, Professor.

Agr6g6 au lycee Buffon.

70 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

We have seen that appeal had been made
to Sir John before this, by the author of Tom
Brown's School Days, to try to arrange for a more
effective " scouring of the White Horse." Now
we find the appeal repeated from a very different
source, from Mr. Herbert Spencer, who had
happened to be in the neighbourhood of the horse
and found him in sad need of grooming.

Dear Lubbock — The celebrated Berkshire White
Horse is within a mile or two of the place I am staying
at for the present, and yesterday I drove near to it.
Up to about thirty years since there was an occasional
expedition made by the local people for the purpose of
cleaning the horse, but the practice has since that time
dropped out. The result is that now large parts are
obliterated by vegetation, the hind legs being no longer
visible.

Is not the maintenance of this ancient work, whatever
may have been its origin, within the functions of the
Society for the Preservation of National Monuments
which you established ? It seems a great pity that
the thing having been maintained for so many centuries
should now, in our days, when the attention to such
remains has become greater, be allowed to fall into
decay, if not into oblivion. It is the more remarkable
that this result should be taking place since I have
myself seen three other such figures which are kept in
good order — one near Marlbro', one near Alton, not far
from Devizes, and one, if I remember rightly, in Somerset-
shire which I saw when a boy. Surely some local
Archaeological Association or some local authority,
under stimulus from your Society, might prevent this
mischief.

The air is very good, and I am hoping to profit by
my stay if other things prove favourable. — Truly yours,

Herbert Spencer.

The following petition, formally addressed to
Sir Mountstuart Grant Duff, was sent to Sir John
Lubbock on behalf of the Kammalahs who are

XX.X " SCENERY OF SWITZERLAND " 71

the metal-washers of Central and Southern India.
They form a sort of caste apart and are said to
number some 30,000,000. In the covering letter
to Sir John, after begging him to urge the appeal
in Parliament, the writer, who is also the signa-
tory of the petition, adds, " the Kammalahs, who
already owe you a deep debt of gratitude, as well
as the millions in India, will feel immensely
obliged to you for the generous act " — i.e. for
doing what he is able on the lines suggested by
the petitioner :

To the Right Honourable

Sir M. E. Grant Duff, G.C.S.I.,
London.

Respected Sir — It is prayed by Kammalahs of
Southern India that if the British rule be just :

Justice may be done to the Indians by according to
them their just rights in respect of —

Class representation.

Freedom of use of vernaculars in Public Life.

Abolition of unmeaning pernicious property quali-
fication.

Distribution of educational funds among all classes
of the people.

The course is the simplest, plainest and safest for
any sagacious Government to follow, opens the only
surest way to blend the British rule with the thoughts
and feelings of the Indian population, and will, it is
hoped, appeal itself to the minds and conscience of all
the members of Parliament, without exception, and
meet with ready adoption at their hands.

The millions in India are human beings with intelli-
gence, educated in their own vernaculars, and cannot
but shine in public life if they are allowed to taste it
regardless of the drawbacks to be anticipated for a
time at the introduction. Because they do not under-
stand English, are they to forfeit their rights and be

72 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK en.

consigned to oblivion ? And how does the unnatural
treatment affect England's hold on India ?

Self-interest of the Congress Organisation would
have the Brahmin be the sole representative and ruler
of India. British local executives in India in their
opulence lead a life of self-imposed seclusion, are bereft
of touch with the people, and would ill brook measures
to interfere in any way with their Imperial ease. To
the opposition from these two sources the letters, etc.,
already submitted, as to the existing state of things,
will, it is further hoped, afford a satisfactory reply.

The above, perhaps, are the last words of advocacy
of the cause in the petition of Kammalahs to Parlia-
ment, and it is much to be desired that the words are
impressed on the minds of the Members of Parliament.
The fate of the petition now rests entirely with
the Power above and

His instruments in the illustrious personages who
have undertaken the cause so very generously.

With my sincere prayers for you and Sir John
Lubbock, M.P., I beg to remain, etc.

After the Parliamentary season, Sir John and
Lady Lubbock took a house at St. Andrews,
where they soon made friends with the Reverend
Dr. Boyd (A. K. H. B.) and Professor Heddle. Dr.
Boyd showed them all the antiquities, and with
Professor Heddle they made several geological
expeditions, inspecting, especially, the ancient
volcanoes along the coast.

In the earher part of the year Sir John had
been laid up for a while with the gout. It may
be noted that it was a most undeserved affliction,
for a more abstemious man never lived. It was,
however, an unfortunate inheritance of the family.
As has been seen, he did not let it interfere more
than absolutely necessary with his numerous
activities, and it was actually in this year that
he as well as Lady Lubbock learned to ride a

xx.x « SCENERY OF SWITZERLAND " 78

bicycle. They brought their bicycles with them to
St, Andrews, and had several rides over Fifeshire,
in a family party with Mrs. Scott, Lady Lubbock's
sister, and the two girls Ursula and Irene, and
Harold.

Needless to say. Sir John played golf fairly
regularly, but I cannot find in his journal all the
full appreciation of the glories of the St. Andrews
links that I should expect to see recorded. On
September 16 he notes : " Had a round with Old
Tom Morris."

He records a couple of good stories told him by
that fine raconteur, as well as preacher, A. K. H. B.
" James I. being preached at in the St. Andrews
parish church, enjoined the minister either to talk
sense or come down from the pulpit. ' I will
neither,' replied the Divine, ' talk sense nor come
doon.' " The other anecdote was of " Dr. Muir,
about 1834, praying for the Provost and Bailies
of Glasgow, ' such as they are, that they may
have more wisdom and grace,' and when the
Provost sent the Marshal to complain, returning
his compliments to the Provost with regrets that
' his prayer had not been heard.' "

Professor Heddle played his part with a good
ghost story. In the room in which John
Buchanan died, a sound was sometimes heard
which was supposed to be his heavy breathing
during his last illness. No one dared sleep in the
room, and the house stood for a long time empty.
Professor Heddle at last bought it cheap, and, not
believing in ghosts, slept in the room. For some
weeks nothing happened, but one night he was
woken up, and to his great surprise distinctly

74 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK cu.

heard the breathing. After a while it ceased, and
in the morning he thought he must have dreamt
it. Some time afterwards he heard it again, and
after much trouble found that the wire of a
lightning conductor rubbed against the wall and
made the noise. He altered the wire, and so
laid the ghost, which, he said, gave great offence
and made him quite unpopular with many of the
St. Andrews people.

A. K. H. B. with his stories, which he told
admirably, and his knowledge of men, was always
excellent company, as, in rather a different way,
with his varied knowledge and most pleasant
way of imparting it, was Sir John himself. Sir
Mount Stuart in his diary for August of this year
writes :

Sir John and Lady Lubbock joined us yesterday.
They have been spending the autumn at St. Andrews,
where he has seen a great deal of Professor Heddle,
who introduced him to the volcanoes of the end of the
carboniferous age, of which memorials remain in Largo
Law and so many other eminences in that neighbourhood.

Colonel Biddulph told us at dinner that a sea captain,
whom he knew personally, had gone with a number of
his crew before a magistrate at Calcutta, and solemnly
deposed that he had seen a huge sea-serpent fighting
with a whale. " What he had really seen," said Lubbock,
" was a struggle between a cachalot and one of the
enormous cuttle-fish on which it feeds. The arms of
a huge individual of this species clasped round its
antagonist would have very much the effect of the
coils of a serpent."

I made Lubbock tell the story mentioned in one of
the Indian volumes of these notes, of the too kind friend
who had sent him a specimen of Heloderma horridum,
not knowing that it was intensely poisonous. That
led to some talk about other lizards, and Arthur asked
whether there was not one that had a third eye on

XXIX " SCENERY OF SWITZERLAND " 75

the top of its head like some of our own very remote
ancestors.

" Certainly," said Lubbock, " and the pineal gland
in the human brain is the survival of that third eye
which we have lost and the lizard, you speak of, has
retained."

Really it would not have been easy to start
a subject to w^hieh he could not make some
interesting contribution.

On October 5 he writes : " Had final game of
golf with Professor Knight, and came up by the
night train."

The rest of the year was spent in the usual
active fashion, with much work of varied kinds,
many visitors at High Elms, and several visits to
the Grant Duffs, to the Pitt Rivers, and so on.
At Christmas there was a family party at High
Elms.

CHAPTER XXX

DIVERS PUBLIC FUNCTIONS (1897)

(Age 63)

It is almost painful, reading Sir John's diaries, to
be obliged to realise how very often, usually twice
or thrice annually, he was afflicted by more or less
grievous attacks of the gout fiend. Seeing him,
as I did, at the times of his wonderful activity and
health (for in the intervals of the attacks his
system did not show the least resultant weakness)
I did not recognise how severe and frequent his
sufferings were. In the midst of them he had
two unfailing sources of support and strength —
his own great power of self-control and serenity
of mind in the first place, and the devoted care and
affection of Lady Lubbock in the second. Neither
of these were ever wanting to him, and in his
greatest pain they were his constant support.

Some of his younger children were beginning not
only to take an interest in his scientific work — with
his almost unequalled gift of lucid exposition,
and with the perfect confidence and affection that
subsisted between him and them, he had been
able to engage this at a very early period of their
lives — but also to be useful assistants. In this

76

cH.xxx DIVERS PUBLIC FUNCTIONS 77

year he notes, respecting a lecture on " Buds and
Stipules," illustrated by diagrams, which he gave
at the Royal Institution, that " Ursula did some of
the diagrams " ; and a day or two later : " Harold
seems very keen about ants, and is making some
experiments." John, the eldest son, was always
much at High Elms.

At the end of January he and Lady Lubbock
were at Rye with the children, playing golf hard
at Rye and Littlestone. They returned to High
Elms on February 5, and went up to London for
the Parliamentary season on the 17th.

The Government had promised, in the pre-
ceding session, an inquiry into the Jameson raid.
Many members felt that there were grave objec-
tions to the inquiry, and Mr. Maclean gave notice
that he would oppose the appointment of the
Committee. Sir John agreed to second him.
The Times on January 22 said that the opposition
of Mr. Maclean might possibly " be regarded as
the outcome of personal feeling or individual
eccentricity, but Sir J. Lubbock occupies a posi-
tion of greater authority in Parliament and, in
ordinary circumstances, his action would suffice
to give pause even to a strong Government. He
is looked upon, generally and justly, as a man of
moderate opinions and of judicial temper. He is
politically allied with the Secretary of State for
the Colonies, and he is not at all likely to interfere,
except on grounds Avhich he believes to be urgent,
with a decision adopted deliberately on the re-
sponsibility of the Administration. We have
already recognised the force of the contentions
embodied in Sir John Lubbock's amendment. It

78 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK oh.

would be desirable, if possible, to refuse to pro-
ceed with an inquiry which, unless very carefully
handled, will probably reawaken jealousies, sus-
picions and antipathies that had almost lapsed
into oblivion. Sir J. Lubbock points out that
within the past few months the origin and inci-
dents of the Jameson raid have been fully investi-
gated by a Committee of the Cape Parliament,
while the principal participators in the affair have
been brought to trial and have suffered punish-
ment in this country. The circumstances of the
case as practically affecting our national obliga-
tions have been materially changed, it must be
acknowledged, since Mr. Chamberlain promised
an inquiry early in last session. All this is true
and pertinent enough, but the fact remains that
the promise was given by Ministers and was
accepted by Parliament after due consideration
and without any reserve." ^

The above is worthy of notice not only for its
analysis of the measure to which it refers, but also
for its estimate of the perhaps unique position
which Sir John held in the House of Commons.
There is little doubt that it was this peculiar
position which enabled him to be so very success-
ful in passing his Bills through the House. Apart
from his exceptional knowledge and ability, the
members on both sides were always sure that his
proposals were inspired by what he believed to be
the public good and not by any considerations of
a " party " character.

The statement often made, having lately been
repeated in rather emphatic form, that the Bank

> Times, January 22, 1897.

XXX DIVERS PUBLIC FUNCTIONS 79

Holidays led to drunkenness, he applied to Sir J.
Bridge, Chief Magistrate for London, to ascertain
the truth of the charge :

2 St. James's Square, S.W.,
20/A March 1897.

Dear Sir John Bridge — Can you tell me if there are
any statistics of the number of cases of Drunkenness and
Assaults brought before the London Police Courts on
the day after, and arising out of, Bank Holiday ?

A recent writer has made the extraordinary assertion
that from |th to ^th of the poor (adult) population,
including women, get drunk on these occasions. — Pray
excuse my troubling you, and believe me, yours very
truly, John Lubbock.

Sir John Bridge, Chief Magistrate.

Sir John Bridge replied that he did not think
any special statistics bearing on the question were
kept, but said that as far as his own experience
went, the days after Bank Holidays were ones on
which there were " remarkably few charges."

His breakfast-parties continued to be frequent
and apparently were popular. At one we find the
list of guests recorded : "Lord Roberts, Lord Kelvin,
The Speaker, the President of the Royal Academy,
Sir E. Arnold, Wedderburn, Sir D. Currie, C.
Corbett, A. Grant Duff." It was the year of the
"Diamond Jubilee," and many of the Colonials
were introduced to this form of hospitality, which
he was among the very last — perhaps was the
last — to maintain in London. " June 24. — Some
of the Colonial Premiers came to breakfast —
Turner of Victoria, Sir H. Muir of Queensland,
Seddon of New Zealand, Kingston of South
Australia and Colonel Denison of Canada. We
had a [scientific party to meet them — Kelvin,

80 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

Evans, Rucker, Bryce, Lecky, G. Darwin, Frank-
land and Maunde Thompson." It will be seen
that history as well as science was represented.
Ladies never seem to have been guests at these
breakfast-parties. Quotation of the last and only
other entry for this day is too tempting to be
resisted : " In the evening to hear Ibsen's Ghosts.
We thought it horrid."

As Treasurer of the British Empire League it
was partly his official duty as well as his pleasure
to entertain the representatives of the Colonies
during their visit here for the Jubilee. He took
a party of them down to Lancashire, and records
that when getting near Liverpool the wife of one
of the Premiers asked him, " Now, Sir John, I am
afraid I am a little mixed in my Geography. Are
we at this moment in England, Scotland, or
Ireland ? "

It is a mix-up which many a Briton visiting
the Colonies might match, with similar ignorance
of their conditions, though perhaps he would not
make such free confession of it. Some of the
Premiers could and did support this by the
stories which they had to tell. Notice the follow-
ing, as recorded on : " July 5. — Meeting at
Merchant Taylors' Hall to meet the Colonial
Premiers. The Duke of Devonshire, Seddon,
Braddon, Whiteway, and Reid spoke. I moved a
resolution. Whiteway mentioned that he found
that Newfoundland was popularly supposed to be
principally representative of Cods, Hogs, Logs,
Bogs, and Fogs. He and Braddon and Seddon
spoke strongly for a closer connection between the
Mother Country and the Colonies, Whiteway had

XXX DIVERS PUBLIC FUNCTIONS 81

received an invitation from Ireland begging them
to appear ' in their native costume.' "

Among other duties which Sir John took upon
himself in this crowded year of public life in
London was that of President of the International
Library Conference. In the letter inviting him
to the Presidency it is urged that the position he
had taken with regard to libraries marked him
out as the President par excellence of such a Con-
ference.

From America alone nearly two hundred delegates
are expected, and we shall have delegates from every
other civilised part of the world. We should endeavour
to make your task as easy as possible, and the duties of
the office would be briefly as follows :

To open the Conference with a short or long (at your
own choice) Inaugural Address, and to preside
when possible at the principal meetings of the
Conference.
To represent the Conference at the Mansion House
on the evening of July 13th, when the whole
Conference is to be entertained by the Lord Mayor,
and similarly to represent the Conference at the
other hospitalities and entertainments which are
promised.
Should you not be able to attend for the most part at
the meetings during the day, we could relieve you by
placing one of the Vice-Presidents in the Chair.

We think that this Conference cannot fail to be of the
utmost value to the Library Movement, not only in this
country but in most others, and that it will prove to be
a point of fresh departure and a centre of energy which
would be long remembered in connection with the
Victorian year, and as such it would be very gratifying
to us that your name should be identified with it as its
President.

The above may serve to indicate the purpose of
this international gathering. As a matter of fact
this Conference, which met in July, appears to

VOL. n G

82 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

have occupied rather more of his attention than
is here proposed. On July 12 he notes : "Recep-
tion of the Association of Libraries at the Guild-
hall. There are already 600 members." On the
following day : " Opening of the Library Confer-
ence. The Lord Mayor came and welcomed us,
after which I gave the opening address."

On the 14th and 15th there were again meetings
of the Conference, and on the latter he writes :
" In the evening Irving and Miss Terry very kindly
gave us all a performance of The Merchant of
Venice at the Lyceum. It was admirably done.
At the close Alice and I went with three or four
behind the scenes to thank them. Irving made
us a nice little speech."

Friday, 16th, was " The last day of the Library
Conference — a final dinner. Certainly it has been
a great success."

He had been appointed this year President of
the Gold Defence Association, and the very day
after the termination of the Library Conference
he writes that he " Dined with the Chancellor of
the Exchequer to meet the American Bimetallist
Deputies — Senator Woolcott, General Payne and
Mr. Stevenson." The last had been Vice-Presi-
dent of the United States.

The United States Government had sent over
these delegates as a Commission to confer with
European Governments on the Silver Question.
Sir John and Lady Lubbock received them at
High Elms.

Though strongly opposed to Bimetallism, Sir
John thought that if France and the United
States opened their Mints to silver we might

XXX DIVERS PUBLIC FUNCTIONS 83

meet them by authorising and arranging that the
Bank of England should hold part of its reserve
in Silver — for which opinion he was taken sharply
to task by his old friend and colleague, Lord
Farrer.

Abinger Hall, Dorkino,
1 October 1897.

My dear Lubbock — If you really think that the
Bank ought under present circumstances to hold part
of its reserve in Silver, and that we ought to open the
Indian Mints to Silver if France and U.S. open their
Mints to Silver at 15| to 1, I do not see how it is possible
for us any longer to act together. The latter proposal
would be just as much Bimetallism as if England opened
her Mints to Silver, and we should through India be
parties to it. — Sincerely yours, Farrer.

To this, Sir John opposed the following
defence :

RusHMORE, Salisbury,
5/A October.

My dear Farrer — I confess I see no reason to change
the opinions we expressed in the Report of the Gold and
Silver Commission.

At the same time much has happened since then, and
as I quite agree with you with reference to the un-
desirability of change in any currency, I should not wish
to express a public opinion without more consideration.

I do not myself for a moment believe that France and
the United States will reopen their Mints at 15| to 1,
and have been reluctant to show any division in the
Monometallic Camp, so that I have said nothing, and
do not for the present contemplate saying anything.

If, however, our Committee wish it, I would prepare
a memorandum for their consideration, and place myself
in their hands. — Believe me, yours very sincerely,

John Lubbock.

The Lord Farrer.

Lord Farrer went so far as to issue a circular
saying that Sir John's views were inconsistent
with his position as President of the Gold Standard

84 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

Defence Association. On this he and Mr. Tritton
the Treasurer, who agreed with him, thought it
necessary to resign their positions. Lord Farrer
then urged them to withdraw their resignations.
This they dechned to do, though intimating that
if re-elected they would be happy to act. There-
upon Lord Farrer himself proposed them, they were
unanimously re-elected, and so the incident " ends
happily."

In 1898 the International Zoological Congress
had arranged to hold the annual meeting at Cam-
bridge, and Sir W. H. Flower, President of the
Zoological Society, and Head of the Natural
History Museum, had been elected President.
His health, however, unfortunately broke down,
and the feeling of responsibility was pressing
heavily on him.

In November he writes to Sir John :

26 Stanhope Gardens, S.W.,
November 2nd, 1897.

My dear Lubbock — I am in a great difficulty, and
you are the only man who can help me out of it, so I
appeal to your goodness and old friendship.

About two years ago the International Zoological
Congress, when deciding at the meeting at Leiden to
come next year to England, asked me to take the office
of President, which I consented to do, though much
against my wish, as I thought that there were others in
the country better qualified.

Since then, things have changed with me, and my
medical advisers, while encouraging me to go on with
the Museum work, if I can take it quietly, and which I
am most anxious to do, say that I can only do it, on
condition of doing nothing else, especially any work
involving presiding and speaking at public meetings.

They had a consultation yesterday and absolutely
prohibited my undertaking the Presidency of the
Congress, as, if I am going on as I am now, I must take

XXX DIVERS PUBLIC FUNCTIONS 85

a complete rest next autumn — the only time I can
conveniently get away from the Museum. I have for
some time foreseen that this might come, but until the
Congress was constituted by the definite formation of
an Executive Committee and other officers, I had no
opportunity of giving in my resignation. On Thursday
next at 3 Hanover Square (2.30 p.m.), a meeting will be
held for this purpose. I cannot go myself, but must
write a letter to explain my situation. Now comes the
difficulty, or what may be a difficulty without your
help. In my opinion, and what I believe will be that of
all British as well as foreign zoologists, the only man
upon whom all sections will unite is yourself. May I
propose you ? There will really be very little work,
especially for one so able and experienced in such
matters. You will have a good staff of willing officers,
and much support from all the leading zoologists. I will
do all I can to help, and keep things going in any direction
you may wish. The Cambridge people are very enthusi-
astic about it, and determined to make it a success.
You need not go to the meeting on Thursday unless
convenient, as I will provide another Chairman, but do
send me a line (by telegraph) to say you will take the
office, if elected, and my mind will be relieved.

I shall also feel that the Congress will gain, instead
of losing by my unfortunate breakdown. — Believe me,
yours most truly, W. H. Flower.

The meeting is fixed for August 23rd to suit the
foreigners. It would be quite enough if you were only
there on the opening day.

Sir John hastened to relieve Professor Flower's
anxieties by a telegram followed by a letter,
expressing his willingness to assume the position
suggested ; and the Professor wrote in gratitude :

26 Stanhope Gardens, S.W.,
November 5th, 1897.

My dear Lubbock — Your telegram, followed by
your very kind letter, relieved me from a very great
anxiety, and I thank you very much. Now the strain,
as it would have been to me (perhaps more in anticipation
and imagination than in reality) is off my mind, I shall

86 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

be able to get on better with my work at the Museum,
which, of course, is my first duty, and which I hope to see
a Httle further advanced during the few (official) years
I have still left to carry it on.

I hear, as I anticipated, that the Committee unani-
mously supported your election, but it was thought
desirable that it should be ratified (as of course it will be)
by the Permanent Committee of the Congress, which sits
at Paris, and of which Milne-Edwards is President. He
has been written to by Mr. Bell (who was yesterday
appointed one of the Secretaries) and who will com-
municate with you officially when he receives the reply. —
Once more thanking you, I remain, yours most truly,

W. H. Flower.

The following letter from Mr. Frederic Harri-
son has reference to an interesting commemora-
tion.

38 Westboubne Terrace, W.,
10 December 1897.

My dear Lubbock — I have been asked by the
promoters of the King Alfred Millenary Commemoration
in 1901 to call your attention to it, and to ask your
co-operation. It was suggested by my Address when
President of the Birmingham and Midland Institute, of
which you saw accounts in reports and articles in the
Press and see Spectator of last Saturday. Winchester
(his capital city and burial place) took up the suggestion,
and the Mayor and Corporation, Bishop, Dean and
Chapter, College, M.P., etc., etc., have moved in the
matter. The Lord Mayor of London will hold a Mansion
House meeting early in the session, and the idea is
to form a representative committee to approach the
Government to help the project.

The following persons have been approached, and many
of them have already agreed to attend a meeting and sup-
port the idea. They are : Bishops of Winchester, London,
Oxford ; Deans of Durham and Winchester, Cardinal
Vaughan, Lord Reay, Lord Rosebery, Lord Acton,
Professors at Oxford and Cambridge ; Sir F. Pollock,
Sir M. Grant Duff, J. Bryce, J. Morley, W. E. Lecky,
Shaw Lefevre, Leslie Stephen, Sir E. M. Thompson,
Poet liaureate. Sir W. Besant, Sir W. Reid, Passmore
Edwards, etc., etc.

XXX DIVERS PUBLIC FUNCTIONS 87

They talk of asking the Prince of Wales to become
President or Patron of the movement to commemorate
his ancestor. The Mayor and people at Winchester
wish to have a memorial building there, but everything
is open for discussion, and if a Mausoleum of Alfred
should be at Winchester — where his dust still lies — I
hope myself the commemoration will take a national
form, and a varied character. I should like to see an
archaeological Wessex museum. You, of course, are a
Wessex thane. And the promoters have asked me to
see if they can count on your co-operation in time for
the Lord Mayor's meeting. — Believe me to be, sincerely
yours, Frederic Harrison.

The summer brought him some more corre-
spondence, at great length, from the Palace at
Mandalay, invoking his further assistance on
behalf of the Kammalahs. His name had be-
come a household word in India as much from
the circulation of his books as from his interest in
the Indian Currency or from any legislation which
he had helped to pass. It was in this very year
that a Marathi translation came out of the
Pleasures of Life, and on one day of this same
year he records the curious fact that the same
post brought him copies of the Pleasures of Life
in two different translations, by different hands,
both in Bohemian.

He was abroad in Switzerland — his last visit
to that country — with Lady Lubbock and the
children in the summer. They did not return
home until September 18, having started on July
7. This is the longest holiday — ^if a time is to be
so called which was fully occupied with botanical
and geological expeditions, in addition to in-
dustrious reading indoors — ^that we have yet
found him taking.

88 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.xxx

He notes that this year the " Green Rooms
were built." From time to time, as the growth
of his family required, he made additions to the
already spacious house at High Elms. Lady
Lubbock had the gift of unusually good taste, and
under her direction every new addition was a
great improvement, and the rooms were furnished
and decorated very perfectly.

CHAPTER XXXI

ISSUE OF THE BEST HUNDRED BOOKS (1898)

(Age 64)

On one occasion, when staying at High Elms, I
happened to have a dressing-room near Sir
John's study, and as I was getting up heard his
voice dehvering a more or less continuous
harangue, broken by certain intervals, so that it
seemed as if he must be reading family prayers.
I was much surprised, for I had never known
this particular form of religious exercise to be a
habit of the household. The Sundays at High
Elms were days on which perfect liberty of action
and of conscience were permitted. Sir John
himself and some of the family always went to
the Parish Church, whither there was a delightful
walk down the drive and up through a copse,
and guests who cared to accompany them were
welcomed, but the idea of the church-going was
not thrust upon them in any way which made it
difficult to decline, if they did not wish to go, and
in the afternoon there was no prohibition on the
playing of fives or golf or lawn-tennis. If anything
occurred to prevent Sir John's usual attendance
at church on Sunday mornings, he made a rule of

90 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

reading the service to the family at home. His
guests were at liberty to be present or not, as
they pleased. But family prayers I had never
known there.

The explanation of the " speeches " I had
overheard is indicated in the diary towards the
end of 1896 : " Set up a phonograph, which
promises to be useful." What was really taking
place was that Sir John was opening his morning's
letters and dictating into the instrument his reply
to each, as he read it. The reply would be taken
off later in the day by his Secretary setting the
machine going, and typed and brought to him for
signature. It was one of his many devices for
time-saving.

The editions of the Use of Life, other than
those in use in the English-speaking countries, I
find him noting, at this time, to be as follows :

France (7 Editions), Germany, Holland, Poland,
Bohemia, Spain, Italy, Greece, Arabic (5 Editions),
Marathi, Gujerathi, Japanese (6 Editions), Danish,
Russian, Armenian, Esthonian, Greece.

It is rather a wonderful record. And this was
a less popular book than the Pleasures !

It is easy for the person of superior culture to
tilt a somewhat scornful nose at these, which are
admittedly, and of deliberate intent, compilations,
but surely to treat as of no human importance the
volumes which have diffused so widely specimens
of the best thought that humanity has produced
must argue rather a false sense of perspective
and of values.

A singular testimony to the popularity of
those books which he specially intended to be

XXXI THE BEST HUNDRED BOOKS 91

" popular " appeared in a Hamburg paper in
May of this year :

Higher Culture

Lectures on the writings of Sir John Lubbock are
offered from May 18th to June 29th to a limited number
of ladies, every Wednesday morning, from 11-12 in the
Richardstrasse.

Mr. Hay, United States Ambassador in Great
Britain at that time, and' later Secretary of State
in his own country, sent him a " packet of stone
implements picked up within sight of the Capitol
at Washington." They were found by a Mr.
Hallett Phillips, a friend of Mr. Hay's, and Mr,
Hay writes : " He was one of your unknown
admirers and asked me to bring you these little
implements." They were duly placed in the
museum of like things at High Elms, where also
another American stone implement, a small spear
head which I found in California, has the honour
of a place.

At this time Messrs. Harmsworth brought out
Sir John's "Best Hundred Books" in a uniform
edition. It was very popular, with readers of
all classes. A few extracts from the long and
excellently drawn up pamphlet by which the
publishers advertised the edition will be read with
interest :

Advice from those whose attainments and character
justify the giving of it is of value to those whose youth
or lack of experience can be wisely aided in the choice of
books. The wilderness of printed volumes at the dawn
of the twentieth century, more than ever before in the
history of the world, requires a guide. A choice has to
be made ; it must be the best possible choice, for the

92 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

books must be limited in number, and, for another
reason, it is best to limit them to a hundred at most.

This is the first difficulty ; and it has been happily
solved by Sir John Lubbock. Carlyle and others,
before Sir John Lubbock brought up the question, had
advised on courses of reading, but Sir John Lubbock
was the first to focus the common desire to a practical
point, when some time ago, in an address delivered
before the Working Men's College of London, he detailed
a list of the hundred works of all literature most desirable
to be read. The idea was greedily seized upon for
discussion all over the world. Of Sir John Lubbock's
choice about ten were objected to, not for the books
themselves, but on the ground that other books should
find a place in the first 100 in order that individual
tastes and individual careers might be gratified. It
was also ascertained that out of the 300 additional
books suggested by the critics there was not a single
work that was recommended by any two critics as being
absolutely essential. In the result, therefore, it was
established that for the world of readers in general,
for all classes, from working men to students and
litterateurs. Sir John Lubbock had chosen — as near as
such choice can ever come — what was really the 100
Best Books in the whole world of literature. And, not
only has Sir John Lubbock's List never since been
improved, it has never since been even approximated
by a list of the 100 Best Books put forward by any one
in any part of the world. It remains to-day unchallenged
as the best possible list of the best hundred books.

The first difficulty was overcome by Sir John Lubbock.
There then remained a second difficulty — the vital
question of cost ; for it was recognised by every one
that, the books once chosen, they must in some way
be made available at a price within the means of the
people. . . .

There follow letters, and extracts from letters,
all appreciative of the list and of its issue in this
uniform edition, from persons of extraordinarily
different distinction — from the Prince of Wales,
from Mr. Henry Irving, from bishops, men of
science, statesmen, diplomatists, soldiers, sailors.

XXXI THE BEST HUNDRED BOOKS 93

instructors of youth, including the Master of
BaUiol. It is really a very remarkable list.

Sir John himself wrote, in reference to the
issue :

We often see it stated that the main result of schools
and public libraries is to create a demand for sensational
novels, or even for a lower class of literature.

It is therefore satisfactory that Messrs. Harmsworth
should have undertaken to issue the 100 books, which I
suggested in my lecture at the Working Men's College,
at a price which nothing but a very large sale could
render possible. Whether they are the " best " books
or not, no one will deny that they are very good ones.

It has, indeed, been suggested that the list contains
hardly enough light literature. The representation of
Oriental Literature especially has led to some difference
of opinion. As regards the Shi King and the Analects
of Confucius, I must humbly confess that I do not
greatly admire either ; but I recommended these because
they are held in the most profound veneration by the
Chinese race, containing 400,000,000 of our fellow-
men. I may add that both works are quite short.

The Ramayana and Mahabharata, and St. Hilaire's
Buddha, are not only very interesting in themselves,
but very important in reference to our great oriental
Empire. Kalidasa's Sakoontala is generally regarded as
the gem of the Hindoo Drama, and the Shahnameh is
the great Persian Epic.

Of the Koran, I suggest portions only. We must
remember that 150,000,000 of men regard it not merely
as the best of books, but as an actual inspiration.
Surely, then, it could not have been excluded.

A popular writer, in a recent work, has observed,
that " why any one should select the best hundred more
than the best eleven, or the best thirty books, it is hard
to conjecture." But this remark entirely misses the
point. Eleven books, or even thirty, would be very
few ; but no doubt I might just as well have chosen
90, or even 110. Indeed, if our arithmetical notation
had been duodecimal instead of decimal, I should no
doubt have made up the number to 120. I only chose
100 as being a round number.

94 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

Again, it is sometimes said that any one who read
these books straight through, and nothing else, would
have his mind choked with indigestible and elementary
facts. This seems to me a captious and foolish criticism.
My belief is, that any one who read the Odyssey would
be led on to further study of Greek History, Mythology,
and Literature ; that each of the 100 books would not
only be itself a source of instruction and delight, but
would be a key which would unlock other treasures.

Others, indeed, have objected that the books men-
tioned are known to every one, at any rate by name ;
that they are as household words. Every one, it has
been said, knows about Herodotus and Homer, Shake-
speare and Milton. There is, no doubt, some truth in
this. But even Lord Iddesleigh, as Mr. Lang has pointed
out in his Life, had never read Marcus Aurelius, and I
may add that he afterwards thanked me warmly for
having suggested the Meditations to him. If, then,
even Lord Iddesleigh, " probably one of the last English
statesmen who knew the literature of Greece and Rome
widely and well," had not read Marcus Aurelius, we may
well suppose that others also may be in the same position.
It is also a curious commentary on what was no doubt an
unusually wide knowledge of classical literature that
Mr. Lang should ascribe — and probably quite correctly — -
Lord Iddesleigh's never having had his attention called
to one of the most beautiful and improving books in
classical, or, indeed, in any other literature, to the fact
that the emperor wrote in " crabbed and corrupt
Greek."

Another objection has been that every one should be
left to choose for himself. And so he must. No list
can be more than a suggestion. But a great literary
authority can hardly, perhaps, realise the difficulty of
selection. An ordinary person turned into a library
and sarcastically told to choose for himself, has to do
so almost at haphazard. He may, perhaps, light upon
a book with an attractive title, and after wasting on it
much valuable time and patience, find that, instead of
either pleasure or profit, he has weakened, or perhaps
lost, his love of reading.

Messrs. Harmsworth are now issuing the books con-
tained in my list in a handy and cheap form, selecting
themselves the editions which they prefer ; and I believe

XXXI THE BEST HUNDRED BOOKS 95

that in doing so they will confer a benefit on many who
have not funds or space to collect a large library.

John Lubbock.

This year Sir John resigned his seat as an
Alderman on the London County Council and also
the Chairmanship of the Council of Foreign Bond-
holders, but he was much occupied, nevertheless,
with the business of the latter, giving evidence
before the House of Commons Committee in
respect of a Bill somewhat altering its constitu-
tion, and eventually getting the Bill passed.
Counsel on behalf of those who opposed the Bill
confessed himself, privately, afterwards, as being
entirely at the end of his resources even at the
beginning of the hearing, because the obvious
course in a case of the kind is to impute interested
motives to the principal parties concerned. It
was, however, so patently absurd to suggest to a
Committee of the House anything of the kind in
connection with Sir John Lubbock or the deputy
chairman. Sir Charles Fremantle, that his task
was like the vain brick-making of the Israelites
without straw. In 1900 he consented, under
pressure, to resume the Presidency of the Council,
and held the office until his death.

In July he was elected by a unanimous vote
Chairman of the London Bankers, and in Sep-
tember, the Irish Bankers, having founded an
Institute, invited him to deliver the Inaugural
Address. The following letter indicates the scope
and purpose of the new institution.

96 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

To the Right Hon.

Sir John Lubbock, Bart., M.P.

Bank op Ireland, Dublin,
16 September 1898.

Dear Sir — I am directed to bring respectfully under
your notice the now successful issue of an effort to
establish in Dublin an Institute of Bankers for Ireland.
The movement, originating with the Staffs, was cordially
taken up by the governing bodies of all the Irish banks,
who have handsomely contributed to the Institute's
funds, and largely provided for its future maintenance.

The Provisional Committee have been greatly assisted
by the counsel and information courteously given by
the Institute in London. They are very sensible that
their success is in a great degree due to the influence
exercised here, as elsewhere, by that establishment, and
they trust that the Irish Institute may, by imitation of
its methods, attain to some measure of its utility. It
has been decided to hold the Inaugural Meeting, if
possible, in October ; and the Provisional Committee,
composed of leading Banking officials and representing
all the Banks and Bankers in Ireland, have directed me
to submit for your kindly consideration their unanimous
desire that the occasion should be signalised by your
presence, and that you should confer upon the Irish
branch of the Profession the honour of an Inaugural
Address.

The Provisional Committee are fully cognizant of
the many public claims on your time and attention, but
they trust that the importance of the movement, your
interest in Banking and your unfailing kindness will
justify their very earnest request.— I have the honour
to be. Sir, your obedient Servant,

F. L. Leet,
Hon. Sec. Provisional Committee,
Institute of Bankers in Ireland.

In March he has in his diary an amusing little
note of an admirable repartee, witty yet perfectly
respectful, of a subject to his Sovereign : '"'' March 5.
— Took the children to the British Museum. Dined
with G. Greyke. Met the Simeons, Lord Hotham,

XXXI THE BEST HUNDRED BOOKS 97

G. Russell, Mrs. Grenfell, etc. Russell says that
once the Queen took Lord John Russell to task
for saying that under certain circumstances it
was right to disobey the Sovereign, and asked
him whether he had really said so. His reply
was, ' As a loyal subject of the House of Hanover,
I was bound to say so.' " It would not be easy
to cite an instance of a more deft answer and
more skilful and yet courteous retorting of the
question's point. References to " Gerty Greyke,"
the hostess at this party, are many in his diary.
She was a cousin to whom he was greatly attached
throughout his life.

At the end of March they — himself. Lady
Lubbock and his daughters Ursula and Irene —
started for Biarritz to stay with Mr. and Mrs.
Hambro, where they enjoyed themselves greatly,
with golf and various expeditions. They re-
turned home on April 16.

On May 4 he notes that he " lunched with
Rothschild to talk over Indian Currency." On
the 10th there is " Consultation at the Bank of
England about the Indian Currency. Proposed
some modifications in the suggested letters to the
Government, which were all accepted."

Mr. Gladstone's great career came to a close on
May 19 of this year, and it was a cause of real
grief to Sir John Lubbock that illness prevented
his attendance at the funeral. Mr. Gladstone had
been his close friend and for years his chief, and
their later political severance only made Sir John
regret the more the inability to join in honouring
his memory at his obsequies.

He was back in the House and variously busy
VOL. II n

98 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

early in June. On the 23rd of the month he
" asked a question on the use of ' Osprey '
feathers in the Army. Brodrick promised they
should be given up."

On August 22 he was at Cambridge, as the
guest of the Vice- Chancellor, taking the chair, in
the place of Sir W. H. Flower, at the International
Zoological Congress. It was a large and important
gathering, delegates coming from many countries.
The ceremonies connected with it, which began
on the Monday, did not terminate till the Satur-
day, on which day he notes, " I gave a party at
the Natural History Museum. Haeckel, Schulze,
Mobius, Dohrn, Veydowsky, Marcy, Milne Ed-
wards, Blanchard, Janet, etc. were there — alto-
gether about 450. The Hills " (Hill was the Vice-
Chancellor) " very kind and hospitable."

In September he was at Bristol with Lady
Lubbock, for the British Association meeting.

At the end of October he went to Ireland with
his son Harold to give the Inaugural Address at
the Irish Bankers' Institute, before mentioned, in
the Trinity College hall. He notes that he
" spoke on the Indian Currency, and then ex-
hibited photographs of most interesting coins,
which I had had specially prepared." Afterwards
they went on expeditions to one or two places
of interest, and suffered a rough passage on the
homeward crossing.

In November he was in Manchester, taking
the chair at a Liberal Unionists' meeting at which
Mr. Chamberlain was the chief speaker.

During the autumn he had been in consulta-
tion with Lord Northbrook about the Indian

XXXI THE BEST HUNDRED BOOKS 99

Currency and the evidence to be given before the
Royal Commission. Lord Northbrook writes, in
connection with it :

Stratton, Micheldever Station,
October 22nd, 1898.

Dear Lubbock— Yes, I should like to see your
letter again — if I remember rightly you expressed an
opinion in favour of raising the import duty on silver in
India. There is, I think, a good deal to be said in
favour of this if a gold standard and currency is intro-
duced into India. On the other hand, there is much to
be said on the other side. — ^Yours very truly,

Northbrook.

And again :

Stratton, Micheldever Station,
October 25th, 1898.

Dear Lubbock — I return your letters with many
thanks.

If you have read Sir A. MacDonnell's evidence before
the Fowler Committee, I think you will be satisfied that
the hardship which arose to persons who possessed
silver ornaments from the closure of the mints has not
been really serious, and I have seen an opinion of equal
weight from Bengal to the same effect. At first, I
entertained the same apprehension that you express in
your letter, but the information I have since obtained
has removed it.

The principal advantage of increasing the import duty
on silver in India seems to be that it would make illicit
coinage more unlikely — but against this there is the great
inducement which would be given to smuggling silver.

I am puzzled as to the possibility of having an
" exchange standard " — but I have no practical know-
ledge of exchanges.

My conclusions after carefully considering the evidence
taken by the Fowler Committee are that the mints
cannot be re-opened to silver.

That no scheme of bimetallism is practicable, even if
it were sound.

That the matter must not be allowed to drift any
longer by the adoption of the scheme of the Government
of India or that of Mr. Lindsay, etc.

That the adoption of a gold standard and a gold

100 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

currency keeping rupees as a token coinage is the right
conclusion, and that steps should be taken as soon as
possible to carry it into effect.

That the first step would be to open the Indian mints
to the coinage of gold sovereigns and to make the
sovereign legal tender.

That the token coinage should, to a certain extent at
any rate, be convertible into gold, and that this might
be provided by giving gold in payment of the present
silver notes of high values, an operation which would
not involve any very serious liability.

Indian silver debt should be converted into gold
when the Government are in a position to meet the
interest in gold.

As much as can be properly arranged of the Indian
revenues should be levied in gold. I have made a rough
calculation that after a certain amount of notice seven
or eight crores of rupees might be obtained in gold.

There is a very large accumulation of gold in India,
and according to the best authorities with which I am
acquainted it is probable that gold currency will be
popular for large transactions.

I do not see that the adoption of a gold standard and
currency for India need entail any serious immediate or
eventual demand upon the world's supply of gold.
There would, I suppose, be some increase in the imports
of gold into India, but as the production of gold has
lately increased, and appears to be increasing, I presume
that this can easily be met.

I have put down these conclusions very roughly, and
without arguments, but you know these currency ques-
tions so well that you will be able to understand what
I mean, and I should be very glad of your criticisms.
— Yours very truly, Northbrook.

There are other letters on the same subject
from Lord Northbrook, but they do not sub-
stantially amplify or modify his views expressed
in the above.

In course of the year Sir John finished the
building of the small house at the farm, for his
son Norman. The last entry in his diary is a sad

XXXI THE BEST HUNDRED BOOKS 101

one : " Dec. 28. — Poor Robin died; from a fall
out hunting." Robin was the son of his youngest
surviving brother Alfred, a young fellow who
inherited much of his father's good looks and
athletic gifts, and brother to that Basil Lubbock
who went " Round the Horn before the Mast,"
and wrote so vividly of it on his return.

((

CHAPTER XXXII

LIGHTENING HIS BURDENS (1899)

(Age 65)

An early entry in the diary for 1899 records the
taking of all the children to the pantomime — ^the
Forty Thieves at Drury Lane, " splendidly put on
the stage " — and towards the end of January
Harold," the eldest boy of the second marriage,
went to school, at Rottingdean." Sir John
affectionately notes the sorrow of himself and of
Lady Lubbock in parting with him, but from the
very first the school seems to have been a success.
The boy was happy there, his reports were good
and, for his age, he took a high place. His father
and mother went down to see him. Sir John
writes that Harold conducted him to the school
library and pointed out with pride to the father
that all the latter's books were " out " — boys were
reading them. He said they were always out and
were among the most popular. In this year both
the Pleasures and the Use of Life were translated
into Greek, Arabic, and Japanese.

He was playing golf twice a week or so all
this spring, whether from High Elms or from St.
James's Square, but at intervals golf was stopped

102

CH. xxxii LIGHTENING HIS BURDENS 103

by gout. We begin to see a tendency in him, in
these last few years of the century, to lay down
some of his official burdens, partly, no doubt, that
he might have the more time to give to his books.
It was this year that he began to work on the
Scenery of England, being in reality a discourse
on the connection between its outer aspects and
their geological causes. He also brought out his
Buds and Stipules book. But when in London
he was constantly taking the chair at this or the
other meeting, speaking in Parliament, reading,
and sometimes accepting, addresses. The Work-
ing Men's College presented him with what he
terms " a charming address on my resignation of
the Principalship."

A day or two later he writes in his journal :
" Golf with the Speaker at Chorley Wood. On
Tuesday Swift MacNeill made a very amusing
speech against Ministers holding Directorships.
He referred to Mundella, saying ' and if I shut my
eyes, I can see him sitting on the Treasury Bench.'
Being called to order for some strong language,
he said, ' I am sorry, Mr. Speaker, I am sorry. I
will withdraw it, and will say it again.' ' He
objected,' he said, ' to Government guinea-pigs
roosting on the Treasury bench.' "

If only Speakers of the House of Commons
would treasure all the humour, conscious and
unconscious (but especially the latter), that they
could gather in that high position, they might
give us great entertainment.

At the request of the Bankers, Sir John had
asked Mr. Lecky to their annual dinner, as a
compliment to literature, and received what he

104 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

speaks of as " this touching letter from Lecky,"
in reply.

Feb. \2th, 1899.

My dear Sir John — ^I am exceedingly troubled by
your letter for I hate refusing requests that have been
again and again made, but I really cannot combine
giving addresses with my literary work and the fatigue
of Parliamentary life. I have got a serious piece of work
on my hands and am doing the very best I can to get
through it in spite of politics and its many interruptions,
but I am not strong ; I can only do my literary work by
giving it my very best thought. Giving addresses is
not my line. I know by experience that my voice will
not carry to the end of a large hall, and the nervous
worry of a public performance of this kind is far more
trying to me than the writing of an address. If I am
not utterly to sacrifice my real literary work to parlia-
ment I must be allowed to devote my spare time to my
own work. I am quite sure that, by doing this, I shall
be more useful than by giving myself to the utterly
uncongenial task of giving public addresses.

Literary life in England is becoming more and more
difficult from the persistence with which requests of this
kind are made to every one who writes a successful book,
entirely irrespective of the question whether the writer
has any turn or habit of talk of the lecturing kind.
Surely the talking literati are sufficiently numerous in
England, and the Universities are producing a large
body of most capable and efficient lecturers.

I should be greatly obliged to you if you could
persuade your Committee of this, for this is the third
if not the fourth time they have pressed this very
flattering but to me very embarrassing request. I
should be exceedingly sorry to appear discourteous to
them or insensible to the honour they have done me,
but I have work before me to the full extent of my
powers.

I hope they will therefore excuse me. — Yours truly,

W. E. H. Lecky.

In March he received from an Indian scholar,
Mr. Romerli Dutt, a copy of the latter's English
metrical translation of the Mahabharata, in a

xxxH LIGHTENING HIS BURDENS 105

condensed form. The translator, in a letter
accompanying the book, speaks appreciatively of
the inclusion of the great Indian epics in the
100 best books. Mr. Dutt, no doubt justly, says
that it is uphill work trying to interest the
ordinary English reader in translations of Indian
poetry, but that the scholars of India look for
help in this to the leaders of literary thought in
England, deeming that in an age when so much
interest is taken in the epics and sagas of all the
European countries some of it may be extended to
those of the East which are " among the earliest
and greatest epics in the world's literature."

The same spring Sir John accepted the Presi-
dency of the Royal Historical Society, in succes-
sion to his friend Sir Mountstuart Grant Duff.
It was an appointment which did not heavily tax
his time.

The following letter from Reisterstown, Mary-
land, is of this date, and may be quoted as very
typical of an immense number of the like pleasant
kind which he received from unknown corre-
spondents.

Dear Sir — Several years ago one of our friends sent
me one of your works as a Christmas gift. We all
enjoyed it very much and have read and re-read it.
Since that time we have bought and studied everything
we could find from your pen.

We have given ten or twelve copies of your Essays to
friends at Christmastide, remembering what a treat we
received on that anniversary one year.

Now I wish very much to tell you what pleasure you
have afforded us, and to thank you very sincerely for all
the enjoyment received from your pen.

You strike a chord within me, one that I feel, but
cannot express in words. I am a dear lover of Nature

106 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK m.

and all her works ; you are, too, and say things that I
should like to, but cannot.

I teach English Literature and Botany in the Franklin
High School, and always recommend your works most
heartily to my pupils.

No doubt you are tired of receiving letters from
friends of your works, but I feel I owe you this little
tribute and trust you will receive it in the same kind
spirit with which it is sent.

Wishing you health, many years more of literary
work, and success in all you undertake.

In the course of the year he made holiday
tours with Lady Lubbock and the children, but
they were restricted to England and Wales. In
the spring they were in Wales, journeying to
Betts-y-Coed on March 17 and on the 19th made
the ascent of Snowdon. It was on this day, as
Sir John notes, ' I began a book on the Physical
Geography of England." It is that book which
was eventually The Scenery of England. Their
visit was cut short by the news that Harold had
a bad attack of influenza, and they returned home
on the 22nd. The boy came to them from school
on the 25th, and, as usually happens, made a
generous gift of microbes to his younger brother
Eric, and the house was soon in the unhappily
familiar condition, in that spring, known as
" Down with influenza." Lady Lubbock was
attacked, but Sir John seems to have escaped.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir M. Hicks
Beach, had recently proposed to make the
bankers collectors of income tax in certain cases.
Sir John was requested to point out the difficulties
of this, and convinced the Chancellor that the
proposition was not very feasible. Sir Michael
returned the papers " on the suggestion as to the

XXXII LIGHTENING HIS BURDENS 107

deduction by bankers of income tax on interest
paid to their customers on deposit accounts,"
and admitted himself satisfied by the arguments
against the suggestion.

Not uninteresting, in view of later develop-
ments, is this letter which Sir John sent to the
Times on the subject of the Government's pro-
posals for the partial working of the telephone
service. It is a mode of management which, as
Sir John states, Mr, Hanbury, the President of
the Local Government Board, denounced, then
proposed and carried.

The Government Telephone Bill
To the Editor of the Times.

Sir — You are certainly conferring a great service on
the public in opening your columns to a discussion on
Mr. Hanbury's important proposals with reference to
the telephone. He has assured us, and of course I do
not question, that he wishes to be fair to the company ;
he is acting, no doubt, to some extent in accordance
with the recommendations of a committee ; but com-
mittees are not infallible, and now that we have the
Bill before us it seems to me unjust to the company.
It will, I believe, exercise an unfortunate effect on the
progress of applied science, and lead to an increase in
both rates and taxes. We are told that the company's
charges are too high and the service inefficient. But it
is not fair to contrast the charges in this country with
those abroad without taking into consideration the
fact that the National Telephone Company has to pay
one-tenth of its receipts i— over £100,000 a year — to the
Post Office as royalty. No wonder, then, that more
progress has been made in other countries. If a similar
payment had been exacted from railroads they would
have made much less rapid progress.

As regards the alleged want of efficiency, the Company

1 I.e. one-tentli of the gross receipts, the said one-tenth amounting
to more than £100,000.

108 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

has told us that the fault is not theirs, but is due to
unnecessary difficulties raised by certain local authorities.
One case, that of Glasgow, has been carefully inquired
into by a Government Official, the Sheriff of Perthshire,
who was specially appointed for the purpose by Govern-
ment, and who has reported that :

" The main cause of the inefficiency of the present
Telephone Exchange service in Glasgow is that it is
worked by ... an overhead single-wire system. . . .
The National Telephone Company resolved last year to
introduce the metallic underground circuit. . . . The
corporation have been responsible for very unnecessary
delay, and have finally resolved ' That the request be
refused.' My opinion accordingly is that the inefficiency
of the present Telephone Exchange system in Glasgow
is in great measure due to the refusal of facilities by the
Corporation of Glasgow."

As to cost he adds : "It appears to me that the rates
are not unreasonable."

Thus, then, the charge of inefficiency brought against
the company has broken down in the only case which
has been officially investigated.

In spite of this, however, Mr. Hanbury proposes to
allow the Glasgow Municipality to institute a competing
service, but, as the Sheriff of Perthshire justly says in
his able report : —

" I think the position of the National Telephone
Company is entitled to consideration. The corporation
put forward their proposal as leading to the establish-
ment of a competing service. . . . But ... it is idle
to speak of competition when they propose to supply
a metallic circuit underground system, and at the same
time to prevent the National Telephone Company (who
wish to do so) from supplying tlie same.

" In my opinion, the reasonable solution of the
matter would be that the corporation should grant to
the National Telephone Company the same facilities
for laying a metallic circuit system underground as the
large English municipalities have done."

But Mr. Hanbury's Bill raises far more important
questions than those merely affecting the interests of
the shareholders in the Telephone Company. It con-
stitutes, indeed, an entirely new departure. If these
principles arc applied to telephony, why not to gas,

xxxn LIGHTENING HIS BURDENS 109

water, and electric lighting ? Hitherto, if a munici-
pality proposes to supply gas or water. Parliament has
insisted that they should buy up the existing companies
on fair terms. If this is just and right in the case of
water and gas, why are telephone shareholders to be
dealt with so differently ? and what security have
investors in gas, water, electric lighting, railway, or,
indeed, any other business that they will not be treated,
or, may I not say, illtreated, in the same way ?

The National Telephone Company is generally spoken
of as a monopoly. It is, no doubt, the only company
actually working, but it has no monopoly, nor could it
object to competition on fair terms. In fact a number
of Manchester merchants and manufacturers have
formed a Mutual company, and have already laid out
several thousand pounds.

The Corporation of Manchester sent a deputation to
the Postmaster-General on October 31 last, " to urge his
Grace to grant a licence to this company, and pointing
out the advantages of competition by a company over
that of a municipality."

Why has this application not been granted ? The
large number of petitions presented this year to Parlia-
ment and the action of the Chambers of Commerce show
the strong feeling in the country as to the growing danger
of municipal trading, and the Government are about to
appoint a joint committee of both Houses to inquire
into the whole subject. But the objections to municipal
trading apply with peculiar force to the telephone, and
it is significant that the Corporation of Liverpool concurs
in this respect with that of Manchester.

The Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, at a meeting
specially convened to consider Mr. Hanbury's proposals,
unanimously resolved to resist them —

"On the following grounds — viz. (1) that the pro-
posals do not meet the requirements of commerce, and
are likely to prove highly detrimental thereto ; (2)
that they would result in a multiplicity of systems
organized by local authorities, which it might afterwards
be difficult to unite ; and (3) that the working in detail
of the telephones would be vexatious and unsatisfactory."

This resolution was forwarded by the Chamber to
the Parliamentary Committee of the Corporation, which
has unanimously adopted it.

110 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

The objections to nationalizing the telephone are,
however, also very strong.

The two reasons given for it are, first, the hope that
the Government will make a profit, and, secondly, that
the service will be better.

As regards the first, I think few persons are aware
that the State has already lost over £7,000,000 by
working the telegraphs, and is losing more and more
every year. According to the figures for 1897, the last
year of which we have the complete return, the Post
Office incurred a loss of £600,000 by the telegraphs,
which it worked itself, and made a profit of £104,000
from the telephones, which it does not work.

I am satisfied that if the Government takes over the
telephones the State will not only lose the profit it is now
making, but that the result will be even more disastrous
than that of the telegraphs. The late Lord Playfair
might well say that there never was a greater mistake
than making the telegraph a Government monopoly.

Nor is the loss on the State telegraphs any exceptional
result. Other cases might be given. South Australia,
according to the last figures I have seen (Howell, Jour.
Statistical Soc, March 1899), had lost over her railways
up to June 1896, £1,774,000 and Victoria £7,759,000.

The results as regards the progress of applied science
will, in my judgment, be even more disastrous. Those
who have hitherto devoted thought and time, energy
and capital, to apply the results of scientific discovery
to practical purposes are now told, that while, of course,
if their enterprise does not pay they must bear the loss,
on the other hand, if it succeeds Government will pass
an Act of Parliament to deprive them of any advantage.

As regards the effect on scientific discovery, I may
quote the words of a distinguished electrician, Mr.
Varley : —

"The introduction of protectionism in so important
an industry as telegraphy has given the postal executive
a grip hold of applied electricity and has enabled them
to crush practically out of existence pioneers in tele-
graphy and applied electricity. English telegraph
enterprise no longer exists, and America, which 20 years
ago was electrically in the rear of this country, is now
England's teacher. At the present time not only does
she take premier rank in dynamo-electric developments,

XXX.I LIGHTENING HIS BURDENS 111

but practically all the telegraphic advances which have
been made since the passage of the Telegraph Act have
originated from American genius."

A monopoly is not less a monopoly because it is in
the hands of Government, and I cannot conclude this
letter (for the length of which I must apologise) better
than in the words of the same high authority, " The sole
object I have in view in writing is to bring home to the
British public, if I can, the evil consequences of the
un-English retrograde policy of converting applied
science into a Government trading monopoly." It is
not necessary in this case, because if the service of the
National Telephone Company is anywhere really in-
efficient, there is nothing to prevent other companies
from being formed like the Mutual of Manchester. We
have thus at present the possibilities of free trade and
competition, and of these advantages Mr. Hanbury's
Bill would deprive us. For the above and other reasons
his Bill would, I believe, if passed, involve us in an
immense pecuniary loss, and be a serious check to the
progress of applied science. — I am, Sir, your obedient
servant, John Lubbock.

Many of the various points which the above
letter raises are of almost as much interest to-day
as when it was written. Mr. A. J. Balfour wrote
privately to Sir John :

10 Downing Street,
April 12, 1899.

My dear Lubbock — One line to say that I have read
with great interest your powerful article in the Times.
There is, of course, an immense deal to be said on the
other side and in favour of our proposals : but you have
omitted— perhaps wisely — one argument against those
proposals which has always weighed greatly with me,
namely, that any increase in the Government responsi-
bilities of this character, such as would be produced
by the Bill, is almost necessarily accompanied by an
increase in the number of Government employes, already
in the case of the Post Office and the Dockyards more
in number than is good for the community. — Yours very
sincerely, Arthur James Balfour.

A letter of about the same date bears evidence

112 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

to the value attached by a distinguished German
botanist to his Buds and Stipules book.

MtJNCHEN, 9 June 1899.

Dear Sir — Having been away the whole winter on a
trip to Australia and New Zealand I did not find time
until lately to read your charming book On Buds and
Stipules. So I hope you will kindly excuse that my
thanks come so late. Your book will give me many
useful hints for the continuation of my Organographie
in which buds and stipules will be treated somewhat in
similar manner. I differ from your views in some points.
So the statement about Acacia verticillata does not
quite agree with my observations, there are leaves with
stipules and without buds, also it is quite true, that all
bud-bearing leaves have stipules. As to the tendrils
of Cucurbitaceae I think their morphological nature is
settled.

It would be a great help to botany if you would
undertake to write a complete " carpologia." Since
Gaertner's work nothing of equal value has appeared.
Gaertner's work being more than hundred years old is
antiquated. We are acquainted now with much more
fruits than he was, we have also other starting points
than he had. But nobody was bold enough to undertake
a new " carpologia " although such a work would be of
the highest interest for descriptive and for physiological
botany. — Yours very faithfully, K. Goebel.

At this time there w^as an idea of estabUshing
a new Medical College which eventually material-
ised under the name of the Polyclinic. Sir John
was asked, and consented, to take the chair at
the inaugural dinner. " We want your advocacy
and approval," the invitation ran, " as those of a
leader in all educational movements and especi-
ally in those concerning Medical Science. Briefly,
our aim is to form a school for the further training
of Medical men already possessing diplomas."

He had more than once been invited to join
" the Club," but had not hitherto thought right

XXXII LIGHTENING HIS BURDENS 113

to do so, because of the few attendances at the
dinners that his many engagements would permit
him. But ah'eady, as we have seen, he was
putting off his shoulders a few out of the great
number of these claims and burdens, and though
until the very end of his life he was more industri-
ously engaged than almost any other man we can
think of, he became increasingly more master of
his own time. He was again in this year pressed
to join the Club by his friend Sir J. Hooker, the
distinguished botanist, and accepted. He seems
to have enjoyed the dinners and the good talks
at them greatly. Sir Mountstuart Grant Duff
writes to him amusingly about it :

11 Chelsea Embankment,
May 7, 1899.

My dear Lubbock — Hooker tells me that, as the
preacher says, " you have come to a better mind " about
The Club. If you do not relapse into evil courses I will
mention the fact of your conversion after dinner on the
16th. I attended the meeting in the Egyptian Hall to
which you kindly invited me ; and was able to tell Dr.
Hill quite conscientiously that his address was " the
best Educational address I had ever heard." If I could
sing I should have been much inclined to sing the Nunc
dimittis, a proceeding which would have had the same
startling effect which was produced when Antoinette
Sterling did something of the sort at a Quakers' meeting,
. . . — Yours very sincerely, M. E. Grant Duff.

The Chairman of the meeting of the Club at
which he was elected wrote him a friendly notifi-
cation of the fact, enclosing also the official in-
timation according to the formula devised by
Gibbon, which has been in use ever since :

Sir— I have the pleasure to inform you that you had
last night the honour to be elected a member of The
VOL. II I

114 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

Club. — I have the honour to be, Sir, your obedient
humble servant.

(Signed by the Chairman of the meeting
at which the election took place.)

To those who are not acquainted with the
doings of " the Club " at the present day a
reference to Boswell's Life of Johnson may be
commended as the most pleasant method of
learning its purpose and origin.

He was active again in this year in legislative
efforts to better the lot of people serving in shops,
bringing in a Bill requiring seats to be provided
for the female assistants and getting it through its
second reading on the last day of May. On June
22 he spoke at a meeting at Grosvenor House on
the same subject. The entry in his diary on this
day may be quoted as typical of his activity,
even when he seemed to be shaking off some of
his burdens. "Thursday 22nd. — Meeting at
Grosvenor House in favour of seats for shop
assistants, the Duke of Westminster in the chair.
Meeting of Central Association of Bankers.
Annual meeting of British Empire League,
Annual meeting of Ray Society. Dined at
Grosvenor House."

On July 11 he notes, "The Seats for Shop
Assistants Bill was moved by the Duke of West-
minster in the House of Lords and carried,
against Lord Salisbury, by 73 votes to 38."

During this session he spoke in the House on
the lines indicated in his letter to the Times about
the telephone service, urging that it would be
better managed by competitive companies than
by municipalities or by the State.

xxxu LIGHTENING HIS BURDENS 115

Dining at Grillion's one day about this time,
where were " Fortescue, Norton, Herbert and
Sanderson, Herbert mentioned that, some one
wishing to see the library at Blenheim, no one
knew where the key was and the door had to be
broken open. On the other hand at Althorp,
soon after Spencer's marriage, the Librarian came
one day with a long face to say that some valuable
books were missing out of the library. A strict
search was made, the servants all interrogated,
and the Police were just going to be sent for,
when it happened to be mentioned to Lady
Spencer, and it appeared that she had taken the
books to her bedroom to read ! "

On August 4 they went down to Brathay Hall,
which they had taken for two months.

Thence they made a variety of interesting
expeditions, and he was busily engaged in gather-
ing notes for The Scenery of England. There is a
sad entry on August 22 : " To tea at Brantwood.
Was glad to see Ruskin once more. He looked
happy, but very feeble, and scarcely spoke." It
was their last meeting. His note of the next
day is, " With Marr, Ursula and Harold up Lang-
dale to Argle Tarn. Saw the volcanic lavas and
ashes very well. Some of the fine dust is so
siliceous as almost to resemble flint, like which it
weathers from slaty blue to white." There are
many such entries, showing the geological nature
of his studies during their expeditions. Of course
botany, also, was not forgotten.

They were back in St. James's Square on
October 6, " after a very pleasant holiday."

All this while extensions to the old home at

116 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

High Elms had been in progress — ^the building of
a new wing of bedrooms and a verandah under
which to sit in summer. The day after returning
to St. James's Square he was at High Elms,
where he says that he " found the work sadly
behind."

All other public interests were naturally
eclipsed at this time by the uncertainty whether
President Kruger seriously intended to force, or
face, a war or was merely playing a big game of
bluff up to the last moment. When the war
actually broke out Sir John felt that the City
ought to give the weight of their moral support
to Government, and wrote to the Lord Mayor :

11 Oct. 1899.

My dear Lord Mayor — I write a line to suggest that
we should have a meeting of citizens in the Guildhall to
support Her Majesty's Government in the crisis now
forced upon us.

Mr. Kruger, without waiting to hear the proposals of
Government to mitigate the acknowledged grievances of
our countrymen and of foreigners (French, Germans,
Russians and others) in the Transvaal, has thought fit
to issue an uncourteous ultimatum presuming to dictate
to her Majesty where we may or may not send our own
troops in our own country, and threatening war if we
do not at once submit. Under these circumstances I
believe that you would be acting in accordance with the
general wishes of the City if you were to call a meeting
in the Guildhall, and that such a summons from you
would meet with a hearty and enthusiastic support from
the citizens of London. — Yours sincerely,

J. Lubbock.

The Lord Mayor at once consented, and the
meeting was a great success.

Towards the end of the year Sir Stafford
Northcote, afterwards Lord Iddesleigh, had been

xxxii LIGHTENING HIS BURDENS 117

appointed Governor of Bombay. A vacancy was
thus created in the Presidency of the Association
of Chambers of Commerce.

25 St. James's Plack,
Nov. 2, 1899.

Dear Sir John — The Associated Chambers of Com-
merce are extremely anxious to secure you as their
President, in succession to myself.

They have asked me to ascertain if you would favour-
ably consider such a request if unanimously made to you.

They would meet your convenience in every way,
relieve you of all routine work, such as our monthly
sessional meetings, etc.

They would ask you to preside at our annual meeting
in March, to represent them on the Paris Exhibition
Committee, if you are not already a member, and at
next year's meeting in London of the Chambers of
Commerce of the Empire ; and, lastly, at the autumnal
gathering next year, especially, if, as is likely, it is held
at Paris.

The Association is growing in importance, and we are
very anxious to have an influential M.P. at its head.

We are on very friendly terms with the Executive
Depts., and Ritchie told me he would much like to see
you President. The Chambers need a cool head.

Much hoping you will agree. — Believe me, yours very
truly, H. Stafford Northcote.

We may note the expression " a cool head "
used in this letter. It is singularly apt, and
indicates one among the qualities which made
Sir John of such great value in a position of this
kind.

He accepted the request and was elected
unanimously.

About the same time Mrs. Waller, a daughter
of Professor Huxley, writes asking him to open
the new Free Library at Gloucester. She says
that she does not apologise for asking such a busy
man to come, knowing well, from the experience

118 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.xxxh

of her own father, that it is always the busy man
that can make time for everything. It is true
that there have been very few in whose hands
time has been so elastic or so malleable as in
those of Sir John Lubbock.

It is perhaps the last occasion that it would be
correct to write of him by this designation. As it
were by way of a Christmas gift, he received a
peerage ; for it was on Christmas Day that he had
the following letter from the Prime Minister :

Foreign Office, 23 Dec. 1899.

My dear Sir John — I am glad to be charged with
the duty of informing you that the Queen has been
pleased to confer upon you a Peerage of the United
Kingdom.

If you accept Her Majesty's gracious intentions, I
am sure the House of Lords will greatly appreciate this
addition to its intellectual strength. — Believe me, yours
very truly, Salisbury.

Sir John replied :

My dear Lord Salisbury — I have duly received
your letter and beg that you will convey to Her Majesty
my grateful thanks for the great honour which she has
been pleased to confer on me.

May I also thank you most heartily for the most kind
manner in which you have been so good as to communi-
cate to me the gratifying intimation. — Sincerely yours,

J. Lubbock.

CHAPTER XXXIII

LORD AVEBURY (1900)

(Age 66)

Many people expressed regrets that the name
and " style " of "Sir John Lubbock," known
throughout the world, should be merged in the
novel designation of " Lord Avebury." It does
not seem, however, to have occurred to him to
decline the honour. " Of course, it is a compli-
ment, the offer of a peerage," as he said to me,
and as such, without further thought, he accepted
it. If he were to take a title other than his own
name (and " Lord Lubbock " would have carried
little suggestion of the " Sir John Lubbock "
whom he had made famous) it is obvious that
none could well be found as suitable as that of
" Avebury." It symbolised his interest in ancient
things, especially ancient religions and civilisa-
tions, and he had for a long while been associated
with this site and this remnant of what seems to
have been the greatest Druidical place of worship
in Great Britain, and perhaps in the world.

His diary of January 23 says : " Went and
cleared out my locker at the House of Commons.
It s sad to feel that my career there is over.

119

120 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

Signed my dear old name for the last time."
And, on the following day : " My peerage is in the
Gazette. I began signing Avebury."

It is evident that he did not part from the
old life without a pang. As a legislator in the
Commons his success had been extraordinary.
It has been said of him that the majority of the
measures which he passed were such as he had
ascertained to have the goodwill of the country
behind them, before he moved them, and that he
was " no leader of a forlorn hope." After all, is
that a criticism that should vex a man ? What
higher justification of a measure is a mover to
find than the opinion of the country in its favour ?
And is it the part of a wise man to put himself in
the van of any movement so desperate as to
deserve the name of a " forlorn hope " when there
are many wrongs less difficult to redress, many
duties lying nearer ? Certainly Lord Avebury,
as we should from this date style him, was the
last of men to waste time unavailingly in strug-
gling to perform impossibilities while possible
ways of doing good were patent. Of all the
measures dear to his heart to which he devoted
any considerable attention, there is, I think,
only one — proportional representation — which he
failed to carry during his lifetime. That also is
making progress, and may be seen in being in our
Constitution before many years have passed. If
it should so happen, it will be largely due to the
combined efforts of the late Lord Avebury and the
present Lord Courtney in preparing public opinion.

Naturally he had an immense number of con-
gratulatory telegrams and other messages on the

xxxur LORD AVEBURY 121

honour paid him. One or two may be worth a
passing notice for the sake of a happy phrase
or point of interest. Town Councils, Chambers
of Commerce, Tradesmen's Associations, Early
Closing Associations, Societies and Companies
financial, scientific, antiquarian, home and foreign,
as well as individuals sent their tribute. Not only
the Unionist leaders but no less than five of the
Front Opposition bench congratulated him, and
the Press, without exception, was cordial and
complimentary.

On Tuesday, January 30, he writes : " Parlia-
ment opened and I took my seat in the House of
Lords. James and Kelvin introduced me. What
a quaint ceremony ! Alice, Ursula and Irene
came."

A quaint ceremony, perhaps; but the intro-
ducers were eminently the right persons — Lord
James of Hereford standing very justly for Lord
Avebury's political opinions, since both had
seceded from the Gladstonian ranks on the same
historical occasion, and Lord Kelvin in association
with his interests and achievements in science. As
in many such cases the writers of the congratu-
latory letters were in some little difficulty to know
by what style to make their address. It is
variously solved. Lord Morley commencing " My
dear Lubbock " asks forgiveness for a slip of the
pen and the old name coming forth ; but perhaps
the happiest way out of the trouble is found by
Lady Ritchie (the daughter of Thackeray), who
beginning in the old manner has a postscript saying
that she cannot write to " Lord Dash." This, of
course, before the announcement of the new title.

122 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

Indeed, Lady Ritchie's letter is altogether so
delightfully expressed that its quotation may be
welcomed :

36 Grosvenor Road, Westminster,
January Is/, 1900.

My dear Sir John — How delightful it is to look in
the paper and for once to read something that is good
news and makes one glad.

Please accept our very sincere, very warm congratu-
lations and sympathies for you and yours. — It is the
yours I think who enjoy such tokens of honour and
public appreciation even more than the recipient. But
old friends also, who have always sympathised and
always found kindness during long years, must be
allowed to feel happy, and I am one of these and with
all good wishes, dear Sir John, I am, yours sincerely,

Anne Ritchie.

I cannot write to Lord Dash so I must still write in
the old formula.

lO/ft February 1900.

My dear Lubbock — (Forgive me the wrong name
has slipped from the end of my pen.) The Standing
Committee at the Museum have asked me to succeed
you as their representative in the House of Commons,
and of course I had no objection. May I come to see
you for five minutes on Tuesday or Wednesday or some
other day. It will be no trouble to me to come to
Lombard Street.

I did not write to congratulate you, because I thought
you would be glad to be spared superfluous letters.
But you may be sure that like all the rest of the world
I recognise with the utmost pleasure the deserved honour
that has been done you. If the House of Lords is to be
mended and not ended, I know no better way of mending
than to call you into it.

If you can tell me all that is to be told in a letter,
don't let me waste your time in an interview. — Yours
sincerely, John Morley.

The comments in the above and in the follow-
ing letters on the House of Lords have interest
in view of the fate that has befallen that illustrious
institution.

xxxm LORD AVEBURY 123

Ferne, Salisbury,
2nd January 1900.

My dear Lubbock — I must send you a line or two
of sincerest congratulation. It will be an immense
pleasure to me to renew an old parliamentary association
— and I hope we may find some good work in which to
co-operate.

The House of Lords, much abused as it is, has become
very liberal in relation to social questions — and you will
find full opportunity for continuing the good work your
name is so conspicuously associated with.

If you have not already made your selection it would
give me the greatest pleasure to be one of your sponsors
when you take your seat. — With all good wishes, yours
sincerely, James of Hereford.

Lexden Park, January 1st, 1900.

My dear Lubbock — I am glad that the first time I
write 1900 it should be on a note congratulating you on
an honour richly deserved and too long delayed. Your
transfer to the other House will save you endless wear
and tear, will indeed I think add some five years to
what would otherwise have been your allotted span of
life.

Hoping that, under the altered circumstances, you
may go a long way with the new century working but
not over-working. — I am, most sincerely yours,

M. E. Grant Duff.

I address you as Sir John Lubbock, not knowing
what title you will take.

January 3rd, 1900.

My dear Lubbock — I have just read in the Times that
you have been made a peer — though I know not yet by
what title — and must address you as of old. Personally
I have a little selfish regret for I shall miss you on the
accustomed seat ; but that may not be long and anyhow
it would be unpardonable for me not to rejoice in your
own pleasure.

I hope, indeed I feel sure, you will not be a mute
member of the Lords. My great quarrel with that
House is that it does so little, and you must take away
some of this reproach.

We are going off from this to Mortana to-morrow for

124 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

two or three days, but expect to be back in London next
Thursday.

My wife joins in congratulations and good wishes to
Lady Lubbock, who will make an ideal peeress. — Very
faithfully yours, Leonard Courtney.

The Speaker's brief note of congratulation is
humorous.

Sutton Pi^ace, 1st January 1900.
Dear Lubbock — I send my sincere congratulations
to you and Lady liubbock upon your honourable
banishment from the House of Commons. We who are
left behind there are the only ones who have cause to
deplore your promotion, but we shall all own that you
have fairly earned this addition to the leisure which you
so well know how to employ. I hope your Lordship will
still condescend to occasionally play a round at golf
with the humble Commoner who is — Yours very faith-
fully, W. C. Gully.

Highbury, 2nd January 1900.

My dear Lubbock — As an old friend permit me most
heartily to congratulate you on your well - deserved
honours.

We have worked together so long and so cordially
that it is a real pleasure to me to see that your services,
your character, and your attainments are properly
appreciated.

May you have many years of usefulness and happiness
still before you. — Believe me, yours very truly,

J. Chamberlain.

One of his congratulatory letters is from His
Highness the Aga Khan, incidentally giving a
terrible picture of the suffering caused by the
combination of plague and famine at this time
raging in India. " It is most touching," he writes,
" to see that in the midst of the anxieties of the
South African War, people in England have not
forgotten our misfortunes, and that the Lord
Mayor has opened a Famine Fund."

Aga Khan, a descendant of the famous

xxxiit LORD AVEBURY 125

" Assassin," and a most courteous and cultured
gentleman, was often a guest at Lord Avebury's
breakfast parties.

One of the letters shows a very just apprecia-
tion, as we shall think, both of the value of
the distinction and of Lord Avebury's merits :
" You have touched life at many many points,
done good service in many good causes and made
wonderful use of your life and opportunities.
Nor is it a light thing to have made no enemies.
I would rather be made a Privy Councillor,
which you already are, than a Peer, because it
is an honour more strictly reserved for merit.
Still a Peerage, where it is deserved, is an envi-
able distinction, and I hope you may live long to
enjoy it."

On his accession to the peerage Lord Avebury
sent the following letter to the University of
London, which he had represented in the
Commons :

High Elms, 1s< January 1900.

My dear Foster — You will have seen that Her
Majesty has been graciously pleased to confer a Peerage
on me, and deeply sensible as I am of this mark of her
approbation, it brings with it one source of regret, viz.
that I can no longer remain the representative of the
University of London in the House of Commons.

I shall feel obliged if you will convey to my constitu-
ents my grateful sense of the generous support which
I have received during the many years in which it has
been my privilege to represent them in Parliament, and
which I shall always look back on with a warm feeling
of gratitude.

I take the opportunity of tendering my thanks
especially to you as Chairman, to the Vice-Chairman,
the Secretary, and other members of the Committee. — I
am, my dear Foster, yours sincerely,

John Lubbock.

126 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK oh.

The President returned an answer expressing
warm appreciation of his services to the University
and the regrets as well as the congratulations of
the authorities.

Shortly after his accession to the peerage one
of the leading writers on the Gaulois invited him
to write a letter to that paper which might help
to dispel the deep misunderstanding of British
aims at that date rife in France.

My Lord — You will doubtless have observed that
French thought as expressed by leading public men and
in most journals of influence, generally tends towards
the conclusion that an aggressive war against France is
the settled policy of England.

Some months ago, in an interview published in the
Gaulois on the 8th December last, Mr. Lockroy (an
ex-Minister of Marine) has expressed his belief that
England will undoubtedly use her naval and military
forces for commercial speculations ; that is to say, that
she will endeavour to seize those colonial possessions
of other nations in order to secure fresh outlets for the
trade where it is at present closed by a system of high
protection.

From my own knowledge I can say that the opinion
is largely entertained that war between France and
England is inevitable, and that it may break out at any
moment, but the above is the only apparently serious
reason which has been as yet given, and, what is more
important, it has not been refuted.

I have therefore conceived the idea that it would
greatly conduce to a better understanding between the
two nations if I was fortunate enough to obtain for
publication in my paper, the Gaulois, an expression of
opinion from two or three leaders of thought in the
country, calculated to reassure the friends of peace and
to dissipate what I believe to be the erroneous conception
of English policy at present existing.

I should therefore be deeply grateful if you would
favour me with a few lines stating whether you think
the French nation has cause for alarm : whether you

xxxiii LORD AVEBURY 127

believe the idea of aggression on the part of England
has any degree of foundation. — Yours respectfully,

MiCHELS

(London Correspondent of the Gaulois).

Lord Avebury was a little startled to be
informed that such a very mistaken idea of
our policy could be genuinely entertained, and
replied :

Sir — You will indeed do a good service to both our
countries in endeavouring to dissipate the absurd and
mischievous impression to which you refer, and for which
there is not a vestige of foundation.

I enclose a note of which pray make any use you like,
as I am writing entirely in the interests of peace.
Allow me to add that if there is anything in my note
which you think might be improved, or made clearer,
I should be very glad to consider any amendment you
might suggest.

Dear Sir— I have seen with great astonishment that
some of your leading public men, and even Journals of
great influence, appear to imagine that this country is
disposed to adopt an aggressive policy against France.

There is absolutely no foundation for any such opinion.

We have no doubt been surprised and disappointed
at the attack on us in a large part of the French press,
and especially at those on our Venerable Queen, but I
fully recognise that the chivalry of the worthy sales-
women on the Boulevards represented the best feeling
of France more than the contemptible letter of a certain
Duke. We recognise here that a war between England
and France (whatever the outcome might be) would be
one of the gravest possible misfortunes for both.

For myself, having so many friends in your Country,
and having as a Geologist and Archaeologist visited many
out of the way parts of your beautiful country, and seen
much of your people, I should view such a war with
horror.

England and France have no doubt in some minor
points interests which are not entirely the same. We
regret that you do not see your way to give to our
Commerce in your Colonies the same advantages as we

128 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

give your Commerce in ours. But in by far the most
numerous and the most important problems the interests
of France and of England are identical.

I am sure that I express the general feeling of my
countrymen when I express the hope that the peace
which has happily subsisted between us for so many
years may long continue, and our friendly feelings grow
stronger and stronger.

I take this opportunity of expressing my own warm
and earnest wishes for the happiness and prosperity of
your great country.

The Paris Chamber of Commerce had invited
the Associated Chambers to hold their autumnal
meeting at Paris, but there was considerable
doubt whether it would be wise to accept, seeing
how bitter was the feeling at this time between
the two countries.

On behalf of the Chambers Lord Avebury
consulted Lord Salisbury on the subject, who said
that their visit would be a great risk and that he
could not advise it. At the same time he said
that he should not like to raise any objection.
Under these circumstances they determined to
go. At the last moment Lady Avebury was not
well enough to accompany Lord Avebury, but
his daughters Ursula and Irene went with him.
It turned out a great success. The best people
in Paris were glad of the opportunity to dis-
sociate themselves from the attacks on England.
Millerand, the Minister of Commerce, came to
welcome them to the Exhibition. They were
taken to the Chamber of Deputies, to the Senate,
and to the Hotel de Ville. The President, M.
Loubet, gave them a party at the Elysee, lent
Lord Avebury his box at the Opera, and asked
him out to Rambouillet.

xxx.u LORD AVEBURY 129

It all went off so well that it may almost be
regarded as a first step towards the Entente
Cordiale. Until the visit of the Chambers,
scarcely any English had been to the Exhibition.
The Report of the Commissioners remarks on the
fact and states that, whether in consequence of
this visit or for some other reason unknown, as
soon as the Chambers had been there a constant
stream of English visitors followed.

Lord Avebury expressly says that he found the
public claims on his time much less heavy since
his move up to the House of Lords. He had
previously been invited to take the Presidency of
the Royal Statistical Society, but had not felt
that he could accept it while in the House of
Commons. On his elevation to the Upper House,
however, it was again proposed to him and he now
acceded.

The President of the Anthropological Institute
wrote to him requesting him to deliver the first
of an annual series of " Huxley " lectures, in
memory of his old friend Professor Huxley, and
he gave the lecture accordingly in November of
this year.

Under considerable pressure from the President
of the Board of Trade (Mr., afterwards Lord,
Ritchie) he served on the advisory Commercial
Intelligence Committee, but in spite of its rather
formidable title this was not an office which
occupied much time. He also consented to be
nominated for the Chancellorship of St. Andrews
University, which fell vacant through the death
of the Duke of Argyll.

The above are a few of the occupations of a

VOL. II K

180 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

year in which he began to have considerably more
leisure than before. It was a time of great
popular enthusiasm over the course of the war in
South Africa. His son Norman went out to the
war, starting on February 17, but was home
again in November. On March 1 Lord Avebury
notes : " Ladysmith relieved by BuUer. Great
excitement. A crowd began to collect before
10 o'clock in front of the Mansion House, and
gradually increased, stopping all the traffic. At
2 it occupied the whole space as far as the Royal
Exchange, up Prince's Street, Cheapside and King
William Street, and at 2.30 I went over to the
Mansion House and suggested to the Lord Mayor
to announce, and instruct the police, that at 3 he
would come out and say a few words and suggest
that they should sing ' God save the Queen,' and
then disperse. He thought it a good idea, and
it was acted on. He asked me to stay, and I went
out on the balcony with him and the Lady
Mayoress. It was a memorable sight."

Towards the end of May, Lord Avebury went
with his daughter Ursula a trip to study the
head waters of the Thames, and the early story
of the river. The results are to be read in The
Scenery of England. At the same time he opened
the new library at Gloucester, where they were
guests of Mr. and Mrs. Waller.

In the autumn they took a house at Tenby for
six weeks, and chartered a steamer which enabled
them to see the interesting coast scenery in a
very convenient way. He played golf and took
much active exercise, actually bathing in the
open sea.

xxxi.i LORD AVEBURY 181

Shortly after their return from Wales his
youngest child Maurice was born, on October 17.

It was rather fitting that this year, in which
he took Avebury for his title, he should have
purchased a considerable area of ground, some
seven hundred acres, adjoining his former property
there. The new purchase was, from the farming
point of view, a sheep farm, but of greater interest
to him was the fact that it included the mound
called by the great antiquarian, Stukeley, the
" Serpent's Head."

CHAPTER XXXIV

PUBCHASE OF KINGSGATE CASTLE (1901)

(Age 67)

His passing to the Upper House, naturally, as
has been said, gave Lord Avebury much more
time that he was able to call his own. It is true
that he still, in his way of quiet industry, did a
sufficient daily task for three men of ordinary
habits, but at the same time it is to be noted that
a considerable measure of this remarkable in-
dustry was devoted to objects which cost him
exceedingly little intellectual effort. The prepara-
tion of such books as the Pleasures and the Use
of Life was almost incidental to the reading of the
great originals from which most of the high
thoughts embodied in them were taken. The
journeys which contributed to The Scenery of
Switzerland and of England were a delight and a
refreshment in themselves. They were rendered
only the more attractive by the special purpose
for which they were undertaken, and all the
geological knowledge which gave them a solid
basis of interest was ready stored for use in his
brain.

Manifestly this is not a comment on the value

132

cH.xxx.v KINGSGATE CASTLE 133

of these writings. There are various modes of
estimating the worth of hterary achievement, but
assuredly it is not justly to be measured by the
labour involved in its production. A more
correct mode might be by the gratification of
readers, and on this test Lord Avebury might
stand justified of his works above almost any
other writer. Nor in estimating the facility and
absence of strain with which he accomplished so
immense a mass of work must we forget the
remarkable ease with which he could pass from one
to another subject of study and attention, the
entire freedom from all unnecessary nerve wear
such as most men experience owing to involuntary
worry, and the perfectly serene atmosphere in which
all was accomplished — equally without haste as
without waste. All these invaluable assets are
to be attributed to the singularly complete control
and self-command into which he had schooled him-
self at a very early age. In fact the facility with
which he accomplished his intellectual tasks is to
be credited to the strength of his moral character
as much as to his purely mental power.

In the early part of this year the Empire was
thrown in a mourning as profound and heartfelt
as it is possible that a national grief can be by the
death of Queen Victoria. Lord Avebury took his
official part in the obsequies. He notes that on
June 25 he " went up for the vote of condolence
and congratulation. Salisbury did it very well,
Kimberley and the Archbishop with much good
feeling. The gallery was crowded with ladies in
black which gave it a very gloomy appearance."
And on February 2 : " Went down to Windsor for

134 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK «,.

the funeral. Found all the maids out, so that I
had to break the door chain assisted by a large
crowd. Went down with Morley and the
Brazilian Ambassador. In St. George's Chapel
sat next Grant Duff. The black made it very
gloomy. The music was beautiful, especially
some of Purcell's."

His amateur effort in housebreaking reads, in
the hasty note of his journal, rather as if it had
been committed on Windsor Castle itself " all the
maids being out," but probably we may assume
that the actual attack was on his own house at
St. James's Square where he had called, on his
way from High Elms, to put on the garb suited to
the melancholy occasion.

Another note in the diary, that under date
March 14, is similarly rather enigmatic : " The
Council breakfasted with me to meet Balfour."
To " Balfour," thus lacking distinctive initials,
it seems natural to think that " A. J." are those
which should be supplied, but there is reason to
suppose that respecting breakfast parties Mr. A.
J. Balfour's attitude would be much that of Mr.
Chamberlain, as noticed previously, and that the
reference really is to his brother, Mr. Gerald
Balfour, at that time President of the Board of
Trade.

During all this year Lord Avebury played golf
assiduously, at least once a week on an average.
All the first half of the year the Early Closing
movement was engaging a great deal of his
attention. He was frequently at meetings and
committees relating to it. It was a great satis-
faction to him that Lord Salisbury had consented

KINGSGATE CASTLE 185

to sit on the committee on this question for which
he had moved, in February, in the House of Lords.
Lord Sahsbury, though recognising the existing
evil, was not wiUing to go so far as Lord Avebury
would have wished in the direction of a drastic
remedial measure. On June 14 he notes : " Early
Closing Committee. They agreed to recommend
the Bill, Hardwicke not committing himself and
Salisbury not being there." Three days later
he was hoping that the Committee's final decision
would be taken, but has to record : " We dis-
cussed the Report, but came to no final vote.
To my great disappointment. Lord Salisbury
pronounced himself strongly against the Bill."
However, on the 20th, when the Committee met
again, he writes : " Salisbury said he admitted
the evil, and felt bound to propose a remedy.
He accepted the proposal to confer the power
(of early closing) on Local Authorities, but
thought it should be done by Provisional Order,
so that Parliament might intervene if it thought
fit. He accepted the body of the Report and
we thought it best to take this suggestion, so
as to get an unanimous report."

Lord Salisbury's objection to the Bill as
originally proposed was, briefly, that it would
enable a majority of tradesmen in any trade to
favour their own interests by putting a forcible
restraint on their competitors. It was for this
reason that he desired that the local option
should be given by Provisional Order, retaining
to Parliament the right, if occasion arose, of
interference.

The shop people in many parts of the country

136 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

seem to have appreciated fully Lord Avebury's
labours in their interests, and he had many
addresses of thanks, of which the following are
typical. The first is from the Secretary of the
Glasgow Association :

My Lord — The Glasgow Grocers and Provision
Merchants Associations have instructed me to convey
to you their heartiest congratulations on the great
success you have attained through the Early Closing
Commission. They earnestly hope the day is not far
distant when you will have the pleasure of seeing your
efforts crowned with complete success by early closing
becoming an established fact.

And the following from the Belfast Associa-
tion's Secretary :

My Lord — I have been directed to convey to you
the following resolution, which was passed at the meeting
of our Board of Management last night :

That this Association begs to congratulate Lord
Avebury on the advance made in the public mind
and amongst members in both Houses of Parlia-
ment, especially amongst members of the present
Government, on the question of earlier closing of
shops, and urges his Lordship to continue to press
forward his Bill, as it is the only measure before
Parliament which commands or deserves to secure
the support of traders and employees.

His old friend, Mr. Philip Norman, a Fellow
of the Society of Antiquaries, had written to
him early in the year on a subject dear to the
hearts of both — ^the preservation, as a national
possession, of the splendid monuments of Stone-
henge.

Following this letter. Lord Avebury accepted
an appointment on a committee of the Society
to confer with Sir Edward Antrobus, but after
a while resigned it, thinking that the Committee

xxx.v KINGSGATE CASTLE 187

were not sufficiently insistent on the rights of
access of the pubUc to the great temple.

He made some inquiries regarding the prob-
able date, as indicated by the orientation, of
Stonehenge and of Avebury respectively from
Mr. Norman Lockyer, and received the following
two letters in reply :

Solar Physics Observatory,

South Kensington, London, S.W.,

February 22nd, 1901.

Dear Loed Avebury — I am getting together the
orientation information regarding Stonehenge and am
arranging to send down to get some fresh measures.
About 2000 B.C. seems the most probable date so far
as we have gone. I have sent the calculations to
Penrose.

Avebury seems much more difficult to tackle. The
circle seems to have been to the modern village what
Memphis was to Cairo. — Very sincerely yours,

Norman Lockyer.

Solar Physics Observatory,

South Kensington, London, S.W.,

February 25th, 1901.

Dear Lord Avebury — I have been working at
Avebury and trying to reproduce the 3 circles from
those shewn on the ordnance map.

My first trial orientation gives me the sun's declina-
tion (14° 55' N.) on May Day. This is remarkable. Do
you know if there are any traditions of Bellam fires and
May Day celebrations in the region ? — Sincerely yours,

Norman Lockyer.

At the end of March he went to Settle with
Mr. Marr, and made some excursions in that dis-
trict for the purposes of his Scenery of England,
and in the early part of June he was at Rotting-
dean to see his son Harold, and took the oppor-
tunity to trace the present and speculate on the
past course of the Ouse. It was Harold's last

138 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

year at Rottingdean, and he went on, obeying
what seems to be a law of nature for all Lubbocks,
to Eton.

At the annual dinner of the Bankers this year
they presented Lord Avebury with a testimonial,
in the form of plate, in recognition of his services
as their Secretary, Vice-Chairman, and Chairman.
He had acted as Secretary since 1863.

On July 11 he notes that he went with the
Duke of Northumberland to see the Lia Phail.
The Dean had it taken out of the chair for their
inspection. He writes : " There is a clear cross,
and a series of marks making a quadrangle, as
if a plate had been fixed on — also a cup, not
however very clear. It is a red sandstone with
one or two quartz pebbles."

The Lia Phail, it may be noted, is " the cele-
brated stone, identified in Irish legend with the
stone on which the patriarch Jacob slept when
he dreamed of the heavenly ladder. The Lia-
fail was supposed to have been brought to
Ireland by the Dedannans and set up at Tara
as the ' inauguration stone ' of the Irish kings ;
it was subsequently removed to Scone, where it
became the coronation stone of the Scottish
kings, until it was taken by James VI. of Scotland
to Westminster and placed under the Coronation
Chair in the Abbey, where it has since remained."
That is the account given of it, under article
' ' Inisfail ' ' in The Encyclopaedia Britannica. Inis =
island ; and poetically Ireland was sometimes
named Inisfail, the island of the Fail or Phail.

A few days previously he and Lady Avebury,
having been advised to take their boy Eric

xxx.v KINGSGATE CASTLE 139

to Margate for the sake of the tonic air, went
there to look at houses, and eventually rented
a house at Kingsgate, belonging to Mr. Luke
Fildes, the artist. It was a tenancy destined to
exercise a very considerable influence on their
future life, for it led to Lord Avebury's purchase
and rebuilding of Kingsgate Castle, which be-
came a very great interest to him, and the
favourite residence of himself and Lady Avebury
in his later years. His own history of the
purchase and building is brief enough :

In July 1901 we took Holland House, at Kingsgate,
entering on 22nd. Thought of buying the Castle. In
October met Walker there to discuss it and bought it
on the 19th.

1902. Began rebuilding. The stone is " Doulting "
— a Jurassic sandstone.

1903. Slept in the Castle for the first time on July 3rd.
Went in on August 13th, but very unfinished.

1905. Made the new road across Brook's Corner in
September. In November paved the courtyard.

We built the cloister to sit in and the rooms above,
I think in 1909.

1912. Built the new servants' quarters and garage.
Bought the foreshore.

The Castle is built in the form of a quadrangle,
with the courtyard, paved in 1905, in the centre.
What gives the place its unique character is
its situation on the very edge of the chalk cliffs
going straight down to the beach. The sea breaks
upon the cliff at high tide, and it was partly
in order to give better protection to the cliff by
masonry defences that Lord Avebury bought
the foreshore in the last year but one of his
life. From the interior of the house a stairway
goes down into the earth, leading to a door, on

140 LIFE OF Sm JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

opening which a sloping way is discovered which
opens out on the shore, so that it is possible
to make ready for a bathe in your own bed-
room in the Castle and to go down through this
glorified rabbit burrow to the sea without making
any public appearance whatever. And from the
Castle windows or the terrace you look out
eastward over the sea and receive all the salt
breezes as freely as if on a ship's deck. At the
back the grounds are extensive enough to keep
out of ear-range the sometimes rather noisy
exuberance of the trippers and those who are
enjoying the boon, which Lord Avebury himself
assured to them, of the Bank Holidays.

It was his delight to come down to this remark-
able place, and here, in the decoration of the
rooms. Lady Avebury found opportunity for
the exercise of her talent in making " the house
beautiful." It was here that I saw him last,
sitting in the archway of the Castle which gives
out on the terrace and on the view over the open
sea beyond. He had his microscope on a little
table before him, and in the clear light was
examining, and exhibiting to any one who cared
to look, what to the naked eye had all the
appearance of an insignificant brown beetle of so
small a size that the unlearned might almost be
tempted to miscall it by the monosyllabic name
of another insect (of the Hemiptera, however,
not the Coleoptera), beginning with the same
capital letter. Seen under the microscope, it
discovered a carapace studded, as it seemed,
with all the jewels of the world, glittering in a
variety of hues and with an indescribable brill-

IXXIV

KINGSGATE CASTLE 141

iance. I remember that some one asked him,
" Do you think the other insects see him hke
that ? " and Lord Avebury answered, with a
gentle, non-committal smile, "It is very likely
that they do." What a world of colour it
suggests for their habitation !

All this building of the Kingsgate Castle and
considerable change of residence came from the
delicacy of the boy Eric, who now, as I write,
is rowing " bow " in one of the Trial Eights at
Oxford, so successfully was this early delicacy
outgrown ! Of course, the High Elms house
was always kept on, as well as a house in London
for the season. Nor was it, as has been seen,
till three years from the date now under notice
that they began to inhabit the Castle. For
the time being Lord Avebury returned to his
duties in London.

Appeal was made to him to exercise the pres-
sure of his influence on the authorities of the
London University to ensure the continued in-
clusion of science among the Matriculation sub-
jects. Some of the heads seem to have been
inclined to allow more latitude in the choice of
subjects, but it appears that he agreed with
those who deemed science essential, considering
the purposes of this University's existence, even
at the earliest stage of its educational course.
With that view he wrote :

My dear Rucker — Some of us who are interested
in the progress of Science and the teaching of Modern
Languages in our schools are very much disturbed in
our minds at the Report of the Advisory Board now
under the consideration of the Senate of the University

142 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

of London, with reference to the Matriculation Examina-
tion.

The recommendations of the Board are not only a
departure from, but an absolute reversal of, the whole
policy of the University from its foundation until now ;
and would deal a disastrous blow to the teaching of
Science, Modern Languages and Geography in our
schools.

The recommendations of the Advisory Board are
such that, if the system be adopted by the Senate,
specialisation may commence in our schools from the
very earliest period.

A candidate may pass Matriculation in
English,

Mathematics (elementary or advanced),
Latin,
and
Greek,
with no knowledge of Geography, History, Science or
any Modern Language ; nor will, it is presumed, any of
them be required in any of the subsequent examinations
for a degree.

Or to take another case, he may select
English,

Elementary Mathematics,
Arabic,
Elementary Chemistry,

and
Elementary Physics.
In either case it is submitted that the student would
have only a one-sided, and so to say a half education,
instead of that wide culture which he now receives.

Having regard to the Scholarships and Exhibitions
offered by the great public schools and the older Uni-
versities, it is feared that the Schools whiqh now prepare
for the wider, and as we think better. Matriculation of
the University of London will adopt the system followed
by other schools and will present their students in
English,

Elementary Mathematics,
Latin,
Greek,

and
Ancient History,

xxxiv KINGSGATE CASTLE 148

ignoring Modern Languages, Science, and Modern
History.

Those who are engaged in the Commerce and Manu-
factures of this country have long deplored the dis-
advantage at which we are placed by the neglect of
Science and Modern Languages in most of our Schools.
They have been preserved in some mainly through
the influence of the Matriculation Examination of the
University of London ; but if this Report be adopted,
it is submitted that this light will also be extinguished.
There may be some, though probably comparatively
few, schools which may take an opposite or especially
scientific direction, and present boys in
English,

Mathematics (elementary and advanced),
French,

and
Mechanics or some other branch of Science.
This, however, we should regard as also very one-sided
and unsatisfactory.

The University has until now always required for its
degree some knowledge of

The Classics,

Some Modern Language,

Science,

Geography,

History,

and
Elementary Mathematics.
This, it is submitted, constitutes a sound and broad
education, and this wise standard has secured for the
London Degree the high reputation it has hitherto
enjoyed.

Even if the Senate determine so seriously to narrow
the Matriculation examination, it is submitted that at
least some Science, one Modern Language, some know-
ledge of history and of geography should be essential.

Unless some such change is made, the London Degree,
while a certificate of knowledge in certain limited depart-
ments of human knowledge (like the Oxford and Cam-
bridge local examination certificates), will cease to be
any indication that the holder has received a liberal
education.

We submit that to commence specialisation at the

144 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

very beginning of School life, to reduce Science to an
optional subject, and to require no knowledge of any
Modern Language, would grievously lower the character
of the London Degree and exercise a most disastrous
effect upon the education of our country.

It is thus very evident that though Lord
Avebury had been obhged, when becoming a
peer, to cease representing the London Univer-
sity in ParUament, he continued to take a
zealous interest in its concerns. It is an interest
which, in a certain sense, has been even post-
humously continued, for shortly after his death
the following appeal was issued by the Governors
of the Bank of England.

LORD AVEBURY FUND

Appeal for the Foundation of Scholarships

We have received from Mr. Walter Cunliffe, Governor
of the Bank of England, the following copy of a letter
dated from the Bank of England on January 17 :

" The late Lord Avebury was so closely connected
with both the world of business and of science that it is
evident that subscriptions to any memorial to be raised
to his memory should not be confined to any particular
class, but should be representative of all his varied
interests.

" To establish such a memorial, a small committee
has been formed under the chairmanship of the Governor
of the Bank of England, with representatives from the
Royal Society, the University of London, the London
Chamber of Commerce, and the Clearing Bankers.

" This committee is of opinion that there can be no
more suitable memorial than the foundation of scholar-
ships in economics, and in some other branch of scientific
research in which Lord Avebury was especially inter-
ested, at the University of London, of which he was,
as Sir John Lubbock, appointed a member of the Senate
in 1865, Vice-Chancellor from 1872 to 1880, and member
for the University from 1880 till he was raised to the
peerage in 1900.

XXXIV KINGSGATE CASTLE 145

" The minimum fund to establish such scholarships
should amount to at least £5000, but a still larger sum is
desirable, and if a sufficient sum were raised a professor-
ship or readership might be founded. Towards this,
subscriptions (see accompanying list) have been promised
amounting to upwards of £2900.

" Subscriptions should be paid in to the Lord Avebury
Memorial Fund at the Bank of England and will be
acknowledged in the Press.

" The committee, of which Mr. Cunliffe is chairman,
comprises in addition to himself Sir Felix Schuster,
Lord Goschen, Lord Inchcape, Mr. J. Robarts, Mr. J.
Beaumont Pease, Mr. R. Martin Holland, Lord Welby,
Lord George Hamilton, Sir Edward Busk, University
of London, Sir William Crookes, O.M., F.R.S., and Lord
South wark, London Chamber of Commerce."

In September the family moved house from No.
2 to No. 6 St. James's Square, and Lord Avebury
welcomes the move with the note of mild approval
that he likes the new house better than he had
expected to. But for the moment he was not
long there, for they went to North Berwick
for their usual autumn " holiday " as he calls
it. He was busy enough even there, making
excursions, studying the geology, and writing,
but no doubt the main business of those autumn
days was the playing of golf. They were at
home again by October 19, and he resumed his
usual routine of taking the chair at meetings
and dinners, opening libraries and institutions
in various places, and so on.

A note in his diary of November 23 records :
" Jackson said that Goschen told him that in
preparing the Queen's speech it was assumed
that of course some measure (he forgot which)
would come first. Gladstone asked ' Why ? '
and was told that he had said so. This he

VOL. II L

146 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

denied, and they produced a speech of his in
Hansard in which he said it would come in the
forefront, ' Oh yes,' he said, ' but a front is
a line, not a point.' "

Re-reading, in the new edition now just issued,
Mr. (now Sir James) Frazer's Golden Bough, Lord
Avebury noticed that the writer attributed to Sir
A. Lyall and to Mr. Jevons the distinction, on
which he had insisted years before, between
Religion and Magic. He therefore wrote to Mr.
Frazer :

llOi November 1901.

Dear Sir — I am reading the new edition of your
Golden Bough, and there are one or two points which I
had not noticed in the First Edition, and to which I
should hke to call your attention.

On Page xvi-63 you attribute to Sir A. Lyall and
Mr. Jevons the distinction or opposition between Magic
(or as I prefer to call it Fetichism, because it does not
seem to cover the whole of what is generally termed
Magic) and religion.

I had however pointed this out, and dwelt on it, years
before, in my Origin of Civilisation. See for instance
p. 206, 210, 332, etc.

I wish to call your attention to this because the
essential difference between an Idol and a Fetich, seems
to have been overlooked by almost all writers on these
subjects. Again on p. xviii with regard to the curious
subject of the slain God may I refer you to The Origin
of Civilisation, p. 367.

It is a small point, but on p. 181, 1. 19, the word
" family " would in a botanical sense be correct rather
than " species." — I am, yours truly, Avebury.

J. G. Frazer, Esq.

Mr. Frazer replied

Trinity College, Cambridge,
12th November 1901.

My Lord — I am much obliged to you for pointing
out to me how closely the views expressed in the second

xxxjy KINGSGATE CASTLE 147

edition of my book The Golden Bough as to the relation
of magic and religion agree with those which you had
put forward long before in The Origin of Civilisation.

I read that work (fourth edition, 1882) many years
ago — I believe in 1885 — ^and no doubt it contributed to
form the opinions which I hold as to the evolution of
religion and society, for on looking through it again
to-day I see how cordially I endorse many of the con-
clusions you have come to on important points. I had
no recollection that you had indicated the opposition of
principle between magic (or, as you prefer to call it,
fetichism) and religion. . . .

The further point of the priority of magic to religion
in the evolution of thought is one which, so far as I
remember, neither Mr. Jevons nor Sir A. Lyall main-
tained or even hinted at.

When I argued for this priority of magic to religion
in the second edition of my book, I was not aware that
any one had done so explicitly before me, but I was
careful not to claim any originality for the view, as it
occurred to me that possibly some one might have drawn
the same conclusion before me (Golden Bough, Second
edition, vol. i. p. xvi). I am very glad to learn that you
had actually done so, and I shall take care to point this
out in the next edition of my book, if I ever see one
through the press. The reason why I am particularly
glad to find myself in agreement with you on this point
is that the priority of magic and religion is just one of
the things which appear to have met with least accept-
ance among my critics. They will perhaps treat the
theory more seriously when they find it is held by you
also. Anyhow our independent agreement seems to
confirm the probability of the theory. . . .

I note the account in your book of the killing and
eating of the god, to which you refer me. Merolla's
description of the Congo custom, which you quote,
particularly interests me, because it relates to a custom,
very important for my argument, which was only known
to me through the briefer description in Labat's
Relation historique (see The Golden Bough, vol. ii.
p. 8, second edition). If I ever bring out a new edition
of my book, I will certainly quote or refer to Merolla's
description, mentioning that you had done so before me.
Merolla's " Voyage to Congo," as printed in Pinkerton's

148 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.xxx.v

Voyages, was known to me and had been used by me in
writing my book {e.g. vol. i. p. 172 of the second edition),
but somehow this very interesting passage had escaped
me.

If, in reading my book in its new form (which contains
about twice as much matter as the first edition), any
other observations or criticisms should suggest them-
selves to you, I shall be greatly obliged if you will
communicate them to me. I will give them due atten-
tion, and may be able to benefit by them in a third
edition.

With many apologies for the length to which this
letter has run, I remain, my Lord, your obedient
servant, J. G. Frazer.

At the end of the year Lord Avebury is able
to record the completion of the Scenery of
England.

CHAPTER XXXV

POLITICAL, SOCIAL, AND LITERARY (1902)

(Age 66)

Lord Avebury was very busy in the early part
of the year in efforts to pass the Early Closing
Bill, but suffered several disappointments. In
February he wrote :

HiGu Elms, Farnbohough, R.S.O.,
Kent, 10//i February 1902.

Dear Lord Salisbury — ^We are, of course, dis-
appointed that the Government have not brought in
an Early Closing Bill, but under the circumstances I
have done so, and hope we shall have your support.

I have submitted it in the form the Shopkeepers
desire, but have not forgotten the additions you sug-
gested,— and which I feel bound to accept if you desire
it. I was not sure how you would word it, or what
arrangement as regards expense you had in your mind.

The modifications affect the framework of the Bill,
and I suppose might be effected by a proviso that the
decision of the Local Authority should not come into
effect until it had the sanction of Parliament — as
signified by a Provisional Order. — I am, yours very
sincerely, Avebury.

Lord Lister's attitude of surprise at the
opposition to the Bill, expressed in the following
letter, was that of most of those who thought
with Lord Avebury on the subject :

149

150 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

12 Park Crescent, Portland Place,
February 14,th, 1902.

My dear Lord Avebury — I regret that there is
no prospect of my being able to attend the House on
Tuesday.

I also much regret to learn that Lord Salisbury, after
all the additional evidence obtained by the Committee,
should still hesitate.

The only objection that I have heard raised to a
Measure so manifestly conceived in the best interests
of the health and well being of the Community, is that
it might possibly interfere with the convenience of the
purchaser. But this has, it seems to me, been most
adequately guarded against in the Bill. — Believe me,
very sincerely yours. Lister.

On February 18 Lord Avebury moved the
Second Reading of the Bill, saying that he had
not introduced vs^ords to carry out Lord Salisbury's
suggestion, as he thought the Government had
better draft their own words, and he would accept
them. Much to his surprise the Government
declined to accept this proposition, and threw
out the Bill by 57 to 26. Lord Salisbury was
absent from the House. Had he been present
it is unlikely — so at least Lord Avebury believed
— ^that this would have occurred. He notes in
his diary : " Bishop of Winchester, Spencer and
Rosebery were for us : Belper, Wemyss, Hard-
wicke and the Chancellor against." He seems
to have felt the defeat rather keenly, and a few
days later wrote to decline re-election as Chair-
man of the Liberal Unionist Council on account
of the line taken by the Government on the Bill,
and also wrote a letter of expostulation, at the
same time, to Lord Belper. His refusal to
consent to re-election as Chairman of the Party
Council drew what he speaks of as "a very kind

XXXV POLITICAL, SOCIAL, LITERARY 151

letter " from the Duke of Devonshire pressing
him to reconsider this decision. This was
followed by a letter from Lord Belper, as to
which he writes : " Had a friendly letter from
Belper and a long talk with him in the House of
Lords. I am in hopes they will not oppose us
next year." And the conclusion of the matter,
for the moment, was that he consented to re-
election to the Chairmanship.

Early in March he had interviews on the
same subject on two successive days with Lord
Ritchie, after the last of which he writes : "I
hope something may be done," and again, two
days later, he saw the same Minister again. A
month later he writes : " Had a very satis-
factory interview with Sir K. Digby about the
Early Closing Bill, which I am going to re-
introduce, and think we settled everything satis-
factorily." On April 28 he " arranged with
Lord Salisbury to take the Early Closing Bill
on Monday next. I believe the whole Committee
will support." But again his hopes and all
present prospect of passing the Bill were defeated,
for on the Monday he writes : " Brought in the
Early Closing Bill, with Salisbury's clauses.
The Government having declined previously to
alter it, on the ground that it would be a new
Bill, now turned round and said it was the same,
and moved the ' previous question.' "

Thus for the time being all his work had
availed nothing, though later it served its purpose,
for the Government, finding the Shopkeepers
strongly in its favour, brought in the Bill them-
selves.

152 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

He had been laid up with influenza in the
early part of February, but soon threw off the
attack, and does not seem to have suffered any
subsequent weakness. On March 4 he gave an
address to the Chamber of Commerce about which
Mr. Harold Cox writes, asking permission to
publish it on behalf of the Cobden Club. He
speaks of it as a " splendid " address, and ex-
presses the regret of the Club that " so good
a free-trader " as Lord Avebury is not a member.

There are many entries in the diary of this year
about golf, generally at Mitcham or Richmond, the
Lord Chancellor and the Speaker being his most
frequent play-fellows. And his almost weekly
breakfast -parties seem to have been very well
attended, although some of his friends continued
to expostulate with him on so " archaic " a
form of hospitality.

His new book. The Scenery of England, supplied
him with material ready to hand for lectures,
given under the same title and in various places.
His lucid and simple language and his acute
knowledge of what would interest his audience
made him an ideal lecturer. It was a mode of
exposition which came extremely easy to him,
and which he made equally easy for his hearers.
The lectures were always crowded. From one
at the Egyptian Hall many had to be turned away
because the house was full. But in his interest
in his new subject of the " scenery," his old
friends the ants were not forgotten, and one of
the lectures of this year was on that old familiar
subject.

Out of a very large number of appreciative

XXXV POLITICAL, SOCIAL, LITERAKY 153

letters which he received about the Scenery of
England book, the three following may be quoted
— ^the first, from the Speaker, for the sake of his
quaint " law of compensation " suggestion, and
the others as being from distinguished men of
science, showing how highly they estimated this
essentially " popular " work.

Speaker's House, S.W.,
23rd February 1902.

Dear Avebury — It was very kind of you to tell
Macmillan to send me a copy of your most interesting
book. I wonder how you find time for so much thinking
and writing. And, on the doctrine of averages — does
it not sometimes afflict you to consider how many
thousand unfortunate people must have been born
blind to all that passes around them in order to com-
pensate for your prodigious powers of observation ?

I am glad to see you have recovered from your
influenza. — -Yours very truly, W. C. Gully.

Professor Bonney, the President of the Geo-
logical Society, writes :

23 Denning Road, Hampstead, N.W.,
February \8th, 1902.

My dear Lord Avebury — I am very much obliged
to you for the copy of your new book on the Scenery of
England, which I greatly value. There was certainly
need for a volume of the kind, for Ramsay's book, as
you say, was a little too geological, and it was not
improved by some of the later additions. I am not
sure whether even you might not with advantage have
given a little more expansion to the scenery at the
expense of the geology. All the descriptive parts are
so good — the section about the Downs, for instance,
breathes the very air of those great billows of turf —
scenery which has an inexpressible charm and is unique
of its kind. I should have liked you to take each of
the separate types of our scenery — you have done it
to some extent — and to have worked it out with the
same elaboration, so that the reader could feel thb
spirit of the place. But there are already not a few

154 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

"cameos," so that one must not complain and, like
Oliver, " ask for more." Very interesting too are the
chapters on " Law, custom, and scenery " and on
" Local Divisions." The illustrations also are admirable.
I congratulate you on the result of your labours and
again thank you verv heartily. — Very truly vours,

T. G. BONNEY,

Sir G. Stokes, President of the Royal Society,
says:

Lensfield, Cambridge,
17th February 1902.

Dear Lord Avebury — I am very much obliged to
you for your kind present of your book The Scenery
of England, which I received from the publishers a
couple of days ago. I see it contains a great deal of
information besides scenery, and promises to be very
interesting, though, having lectures on hand, I have
not yet had time to read much of it.

I notice you speak of the different colours of different
lakes. This leads me to make a few remarks about
blue water, such as that of the Rhone as it issues from
the Lake of Geneva, or of the Rhine at the falls of
Schaffhausen. There is no doubt that the natural
colour by transmission of pure water is a pale blue ;
but you don't ordinarily get it in mass sufficiently pure
to show this. In the glaciers we have to deal with
water which has been distilled by Nature, precipitated
as snow, squeezed into ice, and so not contaminated
with organic matter by percolating through earth.
In the ice of a glacier arch we see the natural colour of
pure water. I have never been in Egypt ; but I sup-
pose from its name the Blue Nile owes its colour to the
same cause : it is fed chiefly by the melting of snow
and ice in Abyssinia. The milky colour of streams
running out of glaciers in Switzerland is due to abraded
matter in suspension, which gets deposited in passing
through a lake, so that after subsidence the water is
pure. Pardon me for mentioning all this, which I
daresay you are familiar with already. A very little
impurity, such as we have in bog water, is sufficient to
turn the scale, and prevent us from seeing the natural
pale blue of water.

I saw in the Standard 2 or 8 days ago that you were

XXXV POLITICAL, SOCIAL, LITERARY 155

better. I had not heard of your having been ill, and
I have seen nothing about it since ; so I hope it was
merely a passing ailment, perhaps a slight cold, such
as many people have at present.

With kind remembrances to Lady Avebury, I remain
yours sincerely, G. G. Stokes.

The design of the book, like that of The Scenery
of Switzerland, was not so much, in the first
instance, to describe the scenery, as it may be
seen to-day, as to indicate the forces by which
it was formed in past ages. The following
quotation may serve as an example :

Every one must have observed that there is a marked
difference between our east and west coasts — the west
being irregular and deeply indented, the east presenting
rounded sweeps. This is due partly to the greater
elevation, and partly to the different hardness of the
rocks, those on the west being more ancient, and much
harder, while those on our eastern shores, being more
recent and more destructible, consisting of chalk, clay,
sand, or gravel, have suffered far more from the action
of the waves ; the projecting headlands being gradually
worn away, and the materials carried into the bays.
The general trend of the currents on our eastern coast
being towards the south, it will be observed that the
headlands tend to point in that direction, as for instance
at Spurn Point, Felixstow, etc. ; and the mouths of
many of our eastern rivers are also deflected, some for
several miles, towards the south.

A glance at the map of Europe will show that there
is a remarkable difference between the rivers of the
Atlantic and those of the Mediterranean. The Atlantic
rivers terminate in estuaries, those of the Mediterranean
in deltas. Our rivers terminate in estuaries because the
land stood at a recent period (speaking of course geo-
logically) at a higher level than the present ; but these
estuaries would have been to a great extent filled up
ere now if it had not been for the action of the tides.
The Mediterranean, on the contrary, is almost tideless,
and the rivers have been able to build out deltas.

156 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

A few years before, Lord Avebury had begun
to write down, in a notebook specially given to
the subject, all the more interesting of his dreams.
Some are very curious, and there is little doubt
that he contemplated writing a book on the sub-
ject. He never attempted, so far as I am aware,
any work of the creative imagination. Romance
had little attraction for him. As a boy he had
written verses, but they were not of remarkable
quality. One would be disposed to deny him
the gift of creative imagination, though it is
manifest that he possessed in a high degree the
scientific imagination — that faculty which sug-
gested to him questions as to the reasons why
this or that natural fact happened as it did.
It was a faculty fostered, doubtless, by the great
example of Darwin, who had it in such excellence.
But in his dreams Lord Avebury's imagination
created for him strange fancies enough, the more
strange considering that in the normal plane of
consciousness his mind never showed any romantic
bent whatever. The fact is to be noted : it
would be hazardous to venture explanation.

His dreams traversed the usual fantastic
range — he fell, he flew, he found himself in
inadequate clothing at the most inconvenient
moments, he was chased by monsters, he him-
self was changed into a monster and comported
himself as such — the usual experiences. The
surroundings, the dream scenery, were some-
times of a wild character, but more often drawn
from the pursuits of his waking life. He went
geologising, golfing, bathing, to business in the
House. Occasionally the Houses of the legis-

XXXV POLITICAL, SOCIAL, LITERARY 157

lature underwent some transformation : "I was in
the House of Lords," he writes, " which was a much
longer room than it really is, with a large chimney-
piece, armchairs, sofas, etc. The House of
Commons did not sit as long as we did, and used
to come and listen to our debates. Almost
before we began they trooped in. Chamberlain
took a comfortable armchair.

" Then began some charades. Asquith took

Miss X up to Haldane, who was standing

with his back to the fire, and made some sort
of an address. Then Haldane floated up the
chimney, and after some interval came down
again, covered with soot."

This is not given by any means as a specimen
of the finest flights of fantasy of which he was
capable in his dreams. Still, some of its incidents
— especially the last — are such as would be
sufficiently improbable in real life.

Not so well known as many of his other books,
but one which was of much use and interest
to those to whom it made its appeal, is Coins
and Currency, which also he brought out this
year. It was a subject of which, on almost all
its various sides, he could write with special
knowledge. As a banker and student of finance
he had his opinions on the " currency " question
ready formed, and as an antiquarian his study
of coins, and even his collection of coins, gave
him authority in that division of his subject.
A note in his diary records his gratification at
receiving from Mr. Grueber, of the British Museum,
the gift of a coin of Pontius Pilate.

In this, as in all his books, he took immense

158 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

pains to verify the exactness of his statements,
and had consulted Mr. Grueber as to the date
on which " Dei Gratia " first occurred on our
money, receiving the reply that it was safer to
ascribe it to the coins of Edward III. rather
than of Edward I. The doubt arises owing to
a coin (a groat) attributed to Edward I. having
the " D.G." upon it ; but the date given to the
coin itself appears in doubt, and Mr. Grueber
says he is " pretty certain " it is of the third
Edward's reign.

So complete was the book that even Mr.
Barclay Head, for a long while chief of the
coin department of the British Museum, could
write of it that he had read it with very great
interest and instruction, " for much of it is new
to me."

Certainly he had spared no pains. He used
every endeavour to trace the history of Bank
Notes. Mr. Palgrave having referred to an
enquete held in Paris, but being unable to furnish
any particulars. Lord Avebury wrote to the Bank
of France on the subject, and received the follow-
ing reply :

Banque de France.
Secretariat General.

Paris, le 23 jantder 1902.

Monsieur — Nous avons fait de nombreuses recherches
pour essayer de donner satisfaction a Lord Avebury,
elles|sont restees compl^tement infructueuses. Nous
ne croyons pas qu'il y ait eu une enquete. Nous serious
plutot disposes a penser que I'Ambassadeur de France
k Stockholm a pu adresser k son Gouvernement un
rapport sur la Banque de Sufede fond6e par Palm-
struck, qui existait depuis 1656. Nous avons cherchd ce
rapport, si tant est qu'il ait 6te fait, sans pouvoir le

XXXV POLITICAL, SOCIAL. LITERARY 159

retrouver. Du reste, les billets de banque etaient fort
connus en France, ou la Banque de Law leur avait
valu une facheuse celebrite, et comma on ne voulait
plus de papier monnaie, I'exemple de la Banque de
SuMe n'aurait eu aucune chance d'etre suivi.

Si M. Inglis Palgrave voulait bien nous dire ou il a
puise sa citation nous continuerions nos reeherches.

Avec le regret de ne pouvoir vous renseigner plus
compl6tement, je vous prie d'agreer, Monsieur, I'assu-
rance de ma consideration tr^s distingu^e.

Le Secretaire General.

M. Talbot Agar,
Secretaire de L'Institut des Banquiers,
34 Clements Lane, E.C.

On this he wrote to the Bank of Sweden :

ISth May 1902.

Sir — I do myself the pleasure of sending you a
Copy of a little book of mine on Coins and Currency.

May I call your attention to page 106 ?

Neither Mr. Palgrave nor the Bank of France have
been able to give me any information as to the
" Enquete." Mr. Agar, Secretary of our Central Associa-
tion of Bankers, of which I have the honour of being
President, has written to Sweden, but has also been
unable to obtain any particulars.

If you can give me any information on the subject
or any particulars as to the early issue of Bank notes
in Sweden, I should be greatly obliged. — I am, yours
faithfully, Avebury.

The President,
The Bank of Sweden,
Stockholm.

But they, too, were unable to give him any
information.

He did not hmit his inquiry to more recent
times, requesting aid of Mr. Wallis Budge, who
writes thus of some very early business trans-
actions and records :

160 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

E. & A. Antiquities,

British Museum, No. 3488,

3rd January 1902.

Dear Lord Avebury — Herewith a few notes of
the contents of business tablets which we have here.
I hope they will be useful, but if there is any other kind
which you want, please say and I will see if we have
any examples. I have taken most of them from the
oldest tablets which we have so that you may be able
to say that the business transactions were not influenced
by the Persians and others. I have given dates and
numbers so that reference may if necessary be made
to the tablets. . . . — I am, my Lord, yours obediently,

E. A. Wallis Budge,

The Right Hon. Lord Avebury, D.C.L., F.R.S.

Tablets Nos. 83,945 and 41,459 contain the record of
an important law-case and give the judicial decision.
A woman called Bunanitum married a man who
before his death made over to her a large property in
Bonsippa, which had been bought with part of her
dowry in the 4th year of Nabonidus b.c. 551. With
the other part of her dowry he traded and made a good
deal of money. His name was Apil-addu-natanu. In
due course his daughter by Bunanitum, called Nubta,
married, and was promised a dowry of 2 manas 10
shekels of silver. Before this dowry was paid
Bunanitum's husband died, and his brother, called
Akabi-ilu, laid claim to and seized all his property,
including that portion of it which had been bought
with the dowry of Bunanitum. Bunanitum brought
an action against her brother-in-law, and the judge
decided the case in her favour, and declared that the
whole of the property of the deceased belonged to her
and to her family. These documents are dated in the
9th j'car of Nabonidus B.C. 546.

From Tablet No. 30,506 we learn that the amount of
money which Bunanitum and her husband borrowed
was \\ manas and 8 J shekels, and the lender was Iddina-
Marduk. Now, since 1 mana contains 60 shekels,
Bunanitum borrowed 98| shekels. She agreed to pay
as interest 61 shekels per month, therefore the interest
was over 60% per month, or over 720% per annum.

XXXV POLITICAL, SOCIAL, LITERARY 161

[A money-lender's trade must have been worth
plying in the good old days of Nabonidus, and
it seems easy to understand why the usurer was
unpopular.]

From Tablet No. 17-10-2, 2 we learn that a part of the
property claimed by Bunanitum's brother-in-law had
been purchased in the 2nd year of the reign of Nabonidus,
at Bonsippa for 11| manas of silver, B.C. 553.

From a letter of Khammurabi we see that a man
was charged with bribery, and the king sent men to
enquire into the charge. Sin-idinnam is ordered to
set a seal upon the silver or upon whatsoever was offered
as the bribe, and to send it to the king. The word for
silver is kaspa and it is probable that small lumps of
silver were carried about and used as money.

(Tablet No. 12,829, B.C. 2300.)

A moneylender called Ani-ellati lent on certain land
in Babylon more money than it was worth, intending
to foreclose on it when the crop was grown. The
borrower, Lalum, bought the seed corn and grew his
crop, but at harvest the usurer seized both land and
crop. Lalum appealed to the king,^ who caused the
old land registers to be examined, and when this was
done, it was found that twenty gan ^ had been assigned
to him in olden days and that he could not sell or part
with the property. The king ordered the usurer to
be punished and the restitution of the land.

(Tablet No. 12,821, B.C. 2300.)

Hishu-ibi lent Sin-magir 30 gur of corn (about 10,800
litres) and took a receipt for same ; each year for 3
years he asked for payment but never got it. The
king orders the corn to be paid, and interest upon it.
(Tablet No. 12,864, same date.)

Khammurabi orders that the money which the
scribe Sheb-sin has received from the merchants shall
be sent to him in Babylon.

(Tablet No. 12,838, same date.)

» Khammurabi.

' The gan was a piece of land about 430 yards long by 20 yards wide.

VOL. II M

162 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

47 Shepherds are ordered by the king to come to
Babylon that their accounts may be audited.

(No. 23,122, same date.)

The shepherd of the Temple of Shamash is ordered
to come with other officials to render their accounts.
They are to travel day and night and to reach Babylon
in 2 days. (No. 23,148, same date.)

The inhabitants of Babim and Shakanim complained
to Samsu-iluna that the men of Sippar came down in
boats and fished in their waters ; the king ordered the
withdrawal of the boats, and said they were never to
go to Babim to fish again. (No. 27,269, b.c. 2145.)

King Abeshu, B.C. 2110, orders Ishtar-Ishmeshu to
bring to Babylon the silver which is due from the
merchants of Sippar for the revenue. He orders that
the chief local merchants shall " pack the silver," and
bring it themselves to Ishtar-Ishmeshu ; if they will
not do this they shall be brought to the king in person.

(No. 26,962.)

Sini-Ishtar made an affidavit in the Temple of the
Sun-god that the houses which he and his brother bought
from Sin-Muballit were bought with his mother's money,
and that no one has a claim on the property.

(No. 33,222, B.C. 2300.)

Apil-ili hired Nur-Martu from his father for 1 year
at the rate of 4| of a shekel of silver, i.e. about 14/-
(fourteen shillings). A deposit of one shekel was paid
by Apil-ili.

Nin-sagil and a friend hired two boys, one from his
father, and the other from his mother, for 10 days
during harvest. (No. 92,594.)

A male slave was sold for 6 shekels of silver in the
reign of Abeshua. (No. 92,554, B.C. 2110.)

And a female slave for 4| shekels. (No. 92,551.)

In the reign of Samsu-ilund (b.c. 2145) the three
sons of a widow called Jashukhatum tried to take pos-
session of their father's house and goods ; the widow
appealed, and Tablet No. 92,510 contains the decision
of the court to the effect that she was the rightful
owner of everything.

In the reign of a predecessor of Khammurabi a
certain garden in Babylon was illegally seized by

XXXV POLITICAL, SOCIAL, LITERARY 163

Mar-martu, and its rightful owner, Ilu-bani, had to go
to law to obtain possession of it. Ilu-bani was the
adopted son of Sin-Magir, who had bequeathed to him
the garden. Mar-martu held that the garden could
not be alienated from himself, the rightful successor,
and probably a relative of Sin-Magir. Soon after
Ilu-bani had gained his case another claimant and
relative appeared called Sin-Muballit, and he by some
means got possession of the garden. Ilu-bani had to
go to law again, and Tablet No. 83,214 contains the
text of the judgment in his favour. (b.c. 2220.)

In the reign of Sin-Muballit a house which was
situated on the highway to Kishtum was sold to Elali,
and a special price was paid for it because it was situated
immediately on the highway and had a " frontage on
the street." (No. 92,560.)

In the reign of Apil-Sin (b.c. 2240) a piece of land
on the river Kabh was sold by Makhnubi-ili to Mannasha,
and a special price was paid because it was on the river.

(No. 92,512.)

A house and a cellar in the basement of a neighbouring
inn was sold by Sin-abushu to Ibik-Ishtar.

(No. 92,521.)

Sini-Ishtar and Iriba-Sin became partners about
B.C. 2300 in Babylon. Wishing to dissolve partnership
they went to the temple of Shamash before a judge,
who heard the case, and then made a ruling as to the
division of the common stock and capital. The original
capital is brought into court and each takes back his
share ; of the stock each takes half. Iriba-Sin receives
a male slave with all the tools of his handicraft, and a
female slave ; Sini-Ishtar receives 2 slaves, one male
and one female. They next swear that each is treating
his companion fairly in the house of Shamash and Sin.
They take oaths to the effect that neither will make a
complaint or bring an action at law against the other,
and that any accusation which one may bring against
the other as to the division of the property shall be
illegal and wrong. These things they swear by 4 gods
and the king (Kharamurabi) in the presence of eight
witnesses. (No. B. 73.)

164 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

Amat-Mamu exchanges one large house for 3 small
ones and a money payment of 70 shekels of silver.

(No. 92,532, B.C. 3200.)
About B.C. 2060 a man bartered oil to the value
60f shekels of silver for a number of slaves.

(No. 92,547.)

The Tablets sound wonderfully modern, and
are of special interest in their evidence of women
holding property.

Notice of this little book on coins, in which
much learning was epitomised, may be concluded
with the following :

Skibo Castle, Abdgay, N.B.,
June 10th, 1902.

Dear Lord Avebury — I am delighted to receive
from you a Copy of the history of Coins and Currency.

We had a fight for the Gold Basis as you know. I
wrote some articles on the subject — one of which had
a circulation of five millions; we do things on a big
scale, and the Campaign Committee did this.

I send you a Copy of it in the Book Empire of Business,
A.B.C. of Money.

I am just now in a strange position — the reputed
publisher of two books, Gospel of Wealth, etc., and this
other.

I only said to my two friends help yourselves, you
are welcome to publish anything I have written which
I am free to give you.

They went to work and selected. I got first Copies
as presentation Copies, that's all. — Yours sincerely,

Andrew Carnegie.

P.S. — If you visit the North should be glad to have
you with us here. — A. C.

On the invitation of Mr. Edmund Gosse,
given on behalf of the Society of Authors, Lord
Avebury came on the Committee to decide (in
the absence of a British Academy of Letters) on
the candidate for the Nobel prize for literature,
and was appointed Chairman. The choice of

XXXV POLITICAL, SOCIAL, LITERARY 165

the Committee eventually fell on Mr. Herbert
Spencer, though not without some little searchings
of heart, of a nature which is indicated by this
letter of Mr. Lecky's :

38 Onslow Gardens, S.W.,
Saturday, Jan. 18/02.

Dear Lokd Avebury — ^Would you excuse me for
troubling you with a few lines about the Nobel Prize ?
I declined to join the Committee for electing Candidates
for it, in the first place because I am at present at
Torquay for my health (I return to London on Monday),
and in the next place because I had more work on my
hands than I can manage, and I assumed that I should
then have nothing more to say to the matter. I have
however received an urgent notification from the
Society of Authors asking me to vote without delay
and suggesting Herbert Spencer as their Candidate.
Would you tell me whether this is the unanimous re-
commendation of your Committee, or at all events
whether it has your approval ? I suppose the First
Principles may be said to have " an idealistic tendency,"
though I am not very clear about what that means.
I don't think any of his other works can be said to
have it. I have not been following carefully the Nobel
question, but I was under the impression that the
prize was to be awarded to a work recently published ;
and the First Principles appeared I suppose half a
century ago. I have a great admiration for Herbert
Spencer (though I should never have thought of him
as an idealist) and should be glad to do anything I
could for him — and I cannot think of any important
English work of an " idealistic tendency " that has
lately appeared ; but I am a good deal perplexed about
what to do, and if my vote is not particularly wanted
I should be rather inclined to do nothing. — Yours very
sincerely, W. H. Lecky.

Mr. Lecky accordingly withheld his vote,
but Mr. Herbert Spencer was nominated by the
Committee, notwithstanding, and rephed, with
much appreciation of the honour :

166 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

5 Percival Terrace, Brighton,
January 27th, 1902.

My dear Avebury— Your letter gave me a double
surprise. Being now so much out of the world I did
not know that a Nobel Prize Committee had been
appointed, still less did I know that I had been nominated
by it.

Let me thank you heartily for the part you have
taken in the matter, but I doubt not that your advocacy
as President had much to do with the decision.

Whatever may be the issue it will always be a pleasure
hereafter to remember this mark of appreciation and
sympathy given by the select of my brother authors. —
Sincerely yours, Herbert Spencee.

In July a dinner was held at the Athenaeum,
which brought together perhaps as remarkable
a gathering of talent and achievement as has
ever assembled for that great purpose of dining,
which is proverbially so dear to the Briton. Mr.
Tedder, who has for many years filled the post
of Secretary and Librarian to the distinguished
Club, and was thus brought into close and
frequent association with Lord Avebury, has
very kindly contributed a brief account of his
connection with the Club and especially of his
chairmanship on this which is almost worthy
to be named an historical occasion :

" Lord Avebury was elected a member of
the Athenaeum on March 9, 1857, at the early
age of 23. His proposer was Lord Hotham
and his seconder Charles Darwin. His father,
the Right Honourable Sir John William Lubbock,
Bart., was an original member of the Club, having
been among the first elected in 1824.

" Sir John Lubbock was frequently chosen
as a member of the Committee, and in 1872
became one of the three Trustees in succession

XXXV POLITICAL, SOCIAL, LITERARY 167

to Sir Roderick Murchison, F.R.S. In this office
he had for his colleagues from first to last : Sir
F. A. Abel, Lord Aberdare, Lord Collins (Master
of the Rolls), Sir H. H, Cozens-Hardy (the
present Master of the Rolls), the Rt. Hon. Sir
M. E. Grant Duff, Sir Francis Grant, P.RA.,
Frederic Ouvry, Esq., P.S.A., Lord Overstone,
Earl Roberts, K.G., General Sir Edward Sabine,
P.R.S., and Earl Stanhope, P.S.A.

" Lord Avebury made an admirable chairman
of a Public Meeting, most urbane, courteous,
conciliatory and at the same time well versed in
all the technicalities of business, and concealing
a firm grasp of the proceedings under a pleasant
mask of extreme deference and politeness. As
Trustee he frequently presided at the meetings
of the Committee on the occasion of the special
elections under rule 11, and was very often
chosen to preside at the Annual Meetings of
the Club. At one time he was President of the
Society of Antiquaries, and I well remember the
remarkable skill and tactfulness with which he
conducted a General Meeting when a matter
which had raised some feeling among the Fellows
was discussed.

" Lord Avebury made much use of the Library
of the Athenaeum, and I have frequently helped
him in verifying quotations.

" Perhaps the most noteworthy event among
the associations of Lord Avebury with the
Athenaeum was the dinner given to the Members
of the Order of Merit immediately after the
foundation of the Order by King Edward VII.
in 1902, the year of his Coronation. Nine of

168 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK oh.

the twelve original members of the Order were
or had been members of the Athenaeum. The
twelve were the following : Field-Marshal Earl
Roberts/ General Viscount Kitchener, Lord
Rayleigh/ Lord Kelvin,^ Lord Lister,^ Admiral
of the Fleet Sir Henry Keppel, Admiral Sir
E. H. Seymour, Sir William Huggins,^ Field-
Marshal Viscount Wolseley,^ Right Hon. John
(now Viscount) Morley,i Right Hon. W. E. H.
Lecky,! G. F. Watts, Esq., R.A.,i and when it
was decided to entertain them at dinner, Lord
Avebury was chosen to take the Chair.

" The Coffee Room was closed to ordinary
business on July 25, on the occasion of the
dinner, and about 150 members assembled, the
members of the newly instituted Order occupying
the top table. Before dinner a telegram signed
by Lord Avebury was despatched to the King
(then at Cowes, recovering from his serious
illness), and His Majesty sent a gracious reply
which was received before the close of the dinner :

Lord Avebury — I thank sincerely you and the Com-
mittee and Members of the Athenaeum assembled at
dinner in celebration of the establishment of the Order
of Merit for your telegram and kind good wishes.

Edward R.

" Lord Avebury proposed the toast of the
members of the Order and described the occasion
as a memorable and unique event in the history
of the Club. He then outlined the distinguished
services of each of the guests, prefacing his
remarks by saying that a whole evening would
be insufficient adequately to do justice to the
subject.

1 Member of the Athenaeum.

XXXV POLITICAL, SOCIAL, LITERARY 169

" Each of the Members of the Order present
then responded, and afterwards the Right
Honourable A. J. Balfour rose to propose the
toast of the Chairman. He said that never in
the history of the great metropolis, probably
never in the history of this country, had there
been gathered in a room of that size such a
body of undiluted distinction, and congratulated
Lord Avebury on the great success with which
he had filled an exceedingly difficult position.
The mallet, which had been specially made for
Lord Avebury's use on this occasion, is still
preserved among the Club's treasures, and bears
a small silver tablet recording the event. A
copy of the printed list of those who attended
the dinner is framed and exhibited in the gallery
of prints which illustrates the history of the
Club-house. It is a remarkable collection of
well-known names."

A day or two after the dinner Mr. Tedder
writes :

The Athenaeum, Pall, Mall, S.W.,
July 2Slh, 1902.

Dear Lord Avebury — I have just seen the Bishop
of Winchester, who tells me that the King read your
Speech with much interest. His Majesty seems to
have had a good deal of conversation with the Bishop
about the dinner and the proceedings generally. —
Believe me to remain, yours very faithfully,

Henry Tedder, Secretary.

Assuredly Mr. Tedder's estimate of Lord
Avebury's qualities as Chairman, whether of a
business meeting or a social gathering, is none
too high, though it could not well be higher.
No man, probably, ever has been in such keen

170 LIFE OF Sm JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

request to fill such functions. He was absolutely
to be relied on. He had a natural dislike of
oratory or tall-talking, and could be trusted
not to bore by too long a speech. He had
little appreciation of, or temptation to, epigram,
and his tact made it as impossible for him to
make a blunder in a matter of taste as his
courtesy made it impossible for him intentionally
to wound. The quality of his remarks could
be foretold, though his information was so wide
and so ready to his use that his speech was apt
to have the good sauce of unexpectedness in
the varied directions whither the suggestions
given by its chief subject might lead him.

Within a day or two of taking the chair on
this historical occasion at the Athenaeum, he
was fulfilling the same office for the old Etonians
who were giving a dinner to Sir Joseph Dimsdale,
himself an old Etonian, who was the Lord Mayor.

Earlier in the same month he had been with
Lady Avebury and Eric, for a few days, to
Wales, first to Llangollen and then to Bala,
where he notes " the Bala ' fault ' is supposed
to be still going on. Rumblings are said to be
heard sometimes." From Bala they went to
Arthog and up Cader Idris.

Among their guests at High Elms towards
the end of the month was the Aga Khan, of
whom Lord Avebury writes laconically that " He
played golf " ; but the quality of his game,
unfortunately, he does not mention.

On the 9th of August took place the Coronation
of King Edward VII., deferred, by reason of his
grave illness and operation, from its original

XXXV POLITICAL, SOCIAL, LITERARY 171

date. Lord Avebury and Lady Avebury at-
tended, taking the children to the Peers' stand
opposite the Abbey, whence they had a very
good view.

He was at Birmingham in October, laying
the first stone of the Ruskin memorial, and
giving an address as President of the Ruskin
Society. Subsequently he attended an Early
Closing meeting, where the tradesmen of
Birmingham and its district presented him with
an address of thanks for his services to the
movement.

In August he was at Avebury, taking the
children with him to show them the place, and
explaining it to them in his own way, which no
other way, perhaps, could quite equal in its attrac-
tive simplicity. They had planned to go on to
Stonehenge also, but the weather was abominable,
and they gave up that latter part of the expedi-
tion. In the late autumn — for that which he
annually, without any sense of irony, writes of
as " the holidays " — they were again at Holland
House, Kingsgate, much interested in watching
the building of the Castle and of the high sea-
wall on the chalk cliff, by which he was making
it secure from the waves.

In the beginning of October they stayed for a
day or two with Lord and Lady George Hamilton
at Deal Castle, and a week later he and Lady
Avebury were Sir William Anson's guests at
Oxford, for the Bodleian tercentenary, of which
he writes : " Interesting ceremony in Sheldonian.
I presented an address from the British Museum.
In the evening a dinner at Christ Church — 290

172 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.xxxv

there. I sat between M. Meyer of Paris and
J. Morley. Proposed the University."

He gave an address to the African Society
on November 5. He had that year been elected
President of the Society in succession to Lord
Ripon. On the 15th he was at Swindon, unveil-
ing a memorial tablet to Richard Jefferies. The
address which he gave on that occasion is pub-
lished in his Essays and Addresses.

He received the compliment this year of the
Prussian Order of Merit, presented by the German
Emperor. The other Englishmen of distinction
in science who were already members of the
Order were Sir J. Hooker, Lord Kelvin, Lord
Lister, and Sir G. Stokes.

His diary of this time records that his youngest
son began to give precocious evidence of a
hereditary disposition to speculation on the
phenomena of the Universe, asking " Who made
the sky ? " A day or two later, having burnt
his hand slightly, but sufficiently to hurt him
more than a little, in the library fire, the child
was taken up to the nursery and there left
with the injured finger wrapped in cotton- wool.
When his mother went up shortly afterwards to
see how he was getting on she was surprised and
vexed to find that he had burnt his other hand
also. When asked how he had done it, he replied
that he had " wanted to see whether the nursery
fire burned too."

CHAPTER XXXVI

WORK IN THE UPPER HOUSE (1903)

(Age 67)

If any sure trust might be placed on a Peerage
as a cure for gout, it is likely that this distinction
would be even more eagerly coveted than it is.
Probably it is not in all cases to be relied on, but
certainly in the instance of Lord Avebury it
seems to have had a most salutary effect. From
the moment of his accession to the Upper House
there is for a period of two years no entry of
the distressing kind which records an attack
of the hereditary enemy of his family. There
is little doubt that the explanation is that, hard
as he continued to work in the public service
even as a peer, his labours were light in com-
parison with the burdens which he voluntarily
undertook while in the House of Commons. For
him an " eight hours' day," had he ever chosen
to enjoy so brief a spell of daily work, would
have partaken of the nature of a rest cure. In
some degree it was this that he found in the less
troubled waters of the House of Lords, and his
health had the benefit. In 1903, however, the
old trouble recurred : he had some threatenings

173

174 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

early in the year, and for almost the whole of
November was laid up with a very stubborn
attack. But he never allowed this, more than
any other of these painful experiences, to affect
his cheerful serenity.

He had a double satisfaction this year in
receiving from the Geological Society the first
of the gold medals recently cast in memory of
the late Sir Joseph Prestwich. That distin-
guished man of science had been a close friend
of Lord Avebury, and on account of that friend-
ship, as well as of the honour of being the first
to receive the medal, he was doubly gratified.
The following is the official account of the pre-
sentation in the Society's journal.

The President, in handing the Prestwich Medal,
awarded to John, Baron Avebury, P.C, F.R.S., to
Professor T. G. Bonney, D.Sc., F.R.S., for transmission
to the recipient, addressed him in the following words :

" Professor Bonney — Sir John Lubbock, now the
Right Honourable Lord Avebury, P.C, became a Fellow
of this Society in 1855. He was one of those who took
a warm interest in the question of the antiquity of man,
in those early days when it was so much in dispute. He
did much to support the new views, not only by a paper
in the Natural History Review, but also by his work on
Prehistoric Times, in which that paper was subsequently
incorporated. In those days he was closely associated
with Sir Joseph Prestwich (who at that time had not
yet been called to the professorial chair at Oxford),
and, along with Sir John Evans, frequently accom-
panied him and other Fellows of the Society on geo-
logical excursions in France and elsewhere, investigat-
ing not only the evidences of the antiquity of man, but
other problems of special interest in geology.

" Since then, notwithstanding his numerous public
avocations, his important business occupations, and
his researches in natural history, both entomological
and botanical, he has always retained a lasting attach-

XXXV. WORK IN THE UPPER HOUSE 175

ment to geology. He has evinced this, not only in
keeping abreast with its progress, and accompanying
its workers in the field, but also in the publication of
works on geology, marked by his own literary charm.
His recent works on the scenery of Switzerland and of
England have done much to create a deep appreciation
and sympathy for the science among the thinking and
educated public.

" Whether, therefore, from old associations, or from
the special nature of his geological researches, or from
the fascination of his geological works, the Council of
the Geological Society feel that he is a most fitting
recipient of the first gold medal struck in accordance
with the testamentary dispositions of our venerable
Fellow, Sir Joseph Prestwich."

Professor Bonney, in reply, read the following letter,
which had been forwarded to him by the recipient :

" Mr. President — I should have felt it a great
compliment in any case that the Geological Society
should have bestowed upon me one of their medals, but
I am specially gratified to have received the first of
the Medals instituted in honour of my old friend. Sir
Joseph Prestwich. It is now more than forty years
since I first visited the valley of the Somme under his
guidance, and that of M. Boucher de Perthes. Since
then I have had the advantage of making many most
instructive excursions with him. On those occasions
we were out early and late. Meals constantly gave
way to gravel-pits. On one occasion I spent a week
with him in Paris, — at least if we can be said to have
been in Paris, when I think that we were never there
between 7 o'clock in the morning and 8 in the evening,
and I look back on those expeditions with the greatest
interest. I shall value the Medal extremely, both as
a mark of the approval of the Council, and also in
memory of one whom I esteemed so highly, and to
whom I owed so much. It is a matter of great regret
to me that absence from England has precluded me
from attending to receive it personally."

The absence from England, to which he refers
above, was by reason of a visit to Biarritz,
whither he started with Lady Avebury, Eric,

176 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

Maurice, and the two girls, on January 27. They
had rooms at the Hotel du Palais, and arrived
just in time to have their share in the alarm of
the disastrous fire which practically destroyed
the original building. Lord Avebury records
their experience in his diary: "Feb. 1. — On
Sunday afternoon Eric went out into the passage
and met the Russian Archduchess who told him
at once to let us know that the other end of the
hotel was on fire. I ran out and found this
was the case, and a strong wind blowing our
way. We immediately began to pack as quick
as we could, first sending baby (Maurice) with
the nursery maid to the Martin Smiths' villa.
In less than 20 minutes we were driven out of
the rooms by the smoke and fire, but fortunately
got most of our things away. The courtyard
was a scene of great confusion, crowds of people,
rolls of smoke, flying sparks, a high wind and
heavy rain and almost dark. However, we all
got safely off with most of our luggage. Nigel
Smith most kind and a great help. Eventually
we got rooms at the Victoria for the night."

The fire was not altogether quenched even the
following day, and a very large part of the re-
cently erected building was a total wreck. They
found pleasant quarters, however, at the Victoria
Hotel, and enjoyed their visit, returning home
on February 24.

While at Biarritz he received a letter from
the Royal Society of Literature conferring on
him the Honorary Fellowship of the Society,
in recognition of his " distinguished services to
literature."

XXXVI WORK IN THE UPPER HOUSE 177

He was honorary member and fellow of an
extraordinarily large number of learned societies,
both home and foreign, and bearer of distinctions
as various as his talents. Some surprise has been
expressed at the conscientiousness with which
he gave at full length, after his name on the
title-pages of his books, the initial letters indicat-
ing these degrees, etc. Certainly Lord Avebury's
very simple character, without a touch of cyni-
cism in its composition, made him highly apprecia-
tive of the recognition of his fellows, but one
of his publishers has explained to me what he
believes to have been his real motive in inscribing
at full the initials signifying his dignities. Lord
Avebury, in his opinion, was influenced by the
feeling that if any letters of the kind were affixed
to a name, a certain slight was cast on the institu-
tion which had honoured him if the distinguishing
initials of that institution were omitted. His
idea was that all or none should be given, more
especially as many of the distinctions were of
foreign origin, and it was particularly imperative,
by all laws of courtesy, not to hurt foreign feelings.
It is a motive perfectly in accord with Lord
Avebury's peculiar kindliness and sensitive con-
sideration of other people.

In the spring he was not very well, and was
doubtful of his ability to fulfil his engagements.
He had agreed to take the chair at a great
meeting in the Free Trade Hall at Manchester,
to commemorate the jubilee of the Manchester
Free Library. In the letter of invitation the
Lord Mayor had pointed out that Manchester
was the first important municipality to adopt

VOL. II N

178 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK oh.

the Public Libraries Act of 1850, and that " The
Public Libraries Movement, which has now
assumed such great proportions, derived its
chief inspiration from this City. The inaugural
ceremony of fifty years ago was graced by the
presence of W. M. Thackeray, Charles Dickens,
Sir E. Bulwer Lytton, and other eminent person-
ages, and we are anxious that the coming celebra-
tion should be distinguished by the presence
and co-operation of leading men in the literary
world."

He bravely managed to struggle down to it
and to play his leading part, and the Lord Mayor
in a letter of thanks for his presidency was able
to write : " The Commemoration, memorable
and important in itself, has derived additional
lustre from the countenance of so many dis-
tinguished men of letters and others interested
in library work. The Corporation are extremely
sensible of the honour you have conferred on
our City, by your presence and co-operation on
this occasion."

Mr. Lecky had been appointed President of
the Royal Literary Fund, but his health was
failing, and he was obliged to go to the south
of France in the spring, and on his request
Lord Avebury filled his place in the chair at
the annual dinner.

He was able to play a good deal of golf during
March and attended many social functions, in-
cluding a ball at his own house in St. James's
Square. Indeed, all through this season he
seems often to have been taking his daughters
to dances, sometimes to two the same night.

XXXVI WORK IN THE UPPER HOUSE 179

On March 28, he writes : " Golf at Richmond,
with Speaker, Sir S. Ponsonby Fane and young
Ridley. He got in for Staleybridge by 40, and
attributes it to football. He kicked off in a
match, and got a goal. His opponent tried to
do the same the following Saturday, but over-
balanced himself and fell on his back."

Quite enough, no doubt, to overturn the
balance of the votes also in a football-playing
constituency.

This session he again introduced the Early
Closing Bill, under better auspices than before.
On March 7 the Archbishop of Canterbury writes
to him that he, the Archbishop, had heard from
the Home Secretary that the Government were
prepared to support " Avebury's Bill." The
significance of this last phrase is that Lord
Ribblesdale also had introduced a Bill having
the same object in view, but with rather different
machinery, which the Government thought would
not work so well. On March 12 his diary notes :
" Early Closing Bill in House of Lords. Ribbles-
dale had also brought in a Bill which came
before mine. The Lord Chancellor said he pre-
ferred ours, and moved that Ribblesdale's be
deferred. This was carried, after some discussion.
I then moved mine, which was carried without
a division, after several nice speeches." On the
24th the Bill went through the Standing Com-
mittee of the Lords, and on the 28th of the
next month he writes joyfully : " Got my Early
Closing Bill through the House of Lords after
30 years' work. Very thankful ! " And his
entry two days later is " Royal Academy dinner

180 LIFE OF Sm JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

— sat between Sir F. Jeune and Reay — have had
many letters of congratulation about the Early
Closing Bill."

Just a week earlier he had been to Bristol
unveiling a monumental tablet to Lord Macaulay.
His address on the occasion is published in
Essays and Addresses. Sir George Trevelyan,
nephew of the great Macaulay, writes to him
appreciatively about it :

8 Grosvenor Crescent, S.W.,
April 25th, 1903.

Dear Lord Avebury— I have read your speech
with very keen delight. The mere circumstance of
your going to Clifton was very pleasant to me ; but
the testimony which the range and elevation of your
address gave to your feeling for the subject, gave me a
satisfaction which I cannot expect to make you fully
understand. You spoke most kindly of your wish
that I had been there. It is the plain and simple truth
that I care too much about my uncle's memory and
fame to praise him publicly and statedly ; and for that
same reason to have him praised so, and by such as
you, is all the more prized by me. I lived with him
long enough to have a very strong reverence and affection
for him, and now, from a peculiar circumstance, I feel
more close to him than ever. I am fortunate enough
to love the same books as he loved ; and I read them
in his copies, with his marks down the side, and his
notes in the margin. I have said sometimes that his
marginal notes are to my mind better than his writings,
his speeches, his letters, or, perhaps, his talk. Never
a weak word, never an ignoble one ; and, as they are
mostly in the ancient classics, never on an unworthy
theme.

Of late, in my comparative leisure, I have been
reading great quantities of Cicero's Philosophical works,
— the only philosophy, counting in theology, that I
ever really cared to read ; and I care for it immensely.
He has gone through it all before, over and again, with
immense though discriminative interest and delight ;
and I feel as if I were reading the Latin with him.

XXXVI WORK IN THE UPPER HOUSE 181

Fortunatus ego, cui in vestigiis ejus spatiari con-
ceditur ! This may appear fanciful ; but it is a reality
of growing value to me, and it accounts for the personal
gratitude which I have felt to certain people, — Jebb,
Leslie Stephen, and one or two others, and now in most
marked degree to you, — who have judged him as he
merits, and whose judgment is of the requisite worth.

As for depreciation — of which, in the face of his
enormous popularity there is little to complain — I
always feel it as a singular tribute to him. Other
great writers of the past are invariably judged by what
men think their best works, and the rest is forgotten.
He is still so intensely alive that people quarrel with
him for anything they dislike in his books as if it were
written yesterday. But it is a poor way of showing
my gratitude to write you so long a letter. — Yours
sincerely, G. O. Trevelyan.

In his diary of April 18, Lord Avebury writes :
" I am experimenting with a machine for com-
pressing layers of sand, baize, etc., in two direc-
tions, to imitate mountain-building. H. Darwin
made me the machine. It seems to work well."

A tolerably full description of the experiments
may be found in the Quarterly Journal of the
Geological Society for August 1903, vol. lix.,
under the heading of " An Experiment in
Mountain-building." The working of the
machine may be understood in a general way
from the following account of it which he gave
to the Geological Society. But the original
paper in the Society's journal is illustrated by
photographs from plaster of Paris casts, which
greatly help to a readier understanding of the
phenomena.

182 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

An Experiment in Mountain-Building,

BY THE

Right Hon. the Lord Avebury,
P.C, D.C.L., LL.D., F.R.S., F.G.S.

Many years ago Sir James Hall illustrated the forma-
tion of folded mountains by placing layers of cloth
under a weight, and then compressing two of the sides
so that the cloth was thrown into folds. Since then,
other and more complete experiments of the same kind
have been made by Favre, Cadell, Daubr^e, Willis,
and Ruskin.

In these experiments the compression was from two
sides. If, however, folded mountains are caused by
compression due to the contraction of the earth, the
compression must take place in two directions at right
angles one to the other.

With the view of illustrating this I consulted Mr.
Horace Darwin, and he constructed for me an apparatus
consisting of four square beams of wood, resting on a
floor, which by means of screws could be moved nearer
to, or farther from, each other. The beams left between
them a space 2 feet across and 9 inches in depth.

In the square central space I placed some pieces of
carpet-baize and layers of sand, each about 1^ inches
deep. About an inch above the upper layer of sand I
placed a piece of plate-glass and some weights. The
machine was then set in motion, causing the beams of
wood to approach one another. The sand rose in the
centre, until it reached the glass, when it was flattened
out.

On removing the upper layer of sand, the top-piece of
cloth shows the upper surface gently undulating in the
centre, with some steep folds near the edges, and one
slight ridge crossing the plateau at right angles to one
of the folds.

On removing the underlying layers of sand, the next
layer of cloth shows two main lines of elevation ; one
running from each corner, and consequently crossing
at right angles. The whole surface forms a series of
winding and curving ridges with intervening valleys,
and gradually rises to a culminating dome a little on
one side of the centre, where the two main ridges inter-

XXXVI WORK IN THE UPPER HOUSE 183

sect. I was rather surprised at the marked difference
between this and the upper layer.

Underneath this second piece of baize was another
layer of sand, on the removal of which the third layer
of baize was found to be thrown into folds. This again
differed greatly from, though it evidently followed the
same general law as, the preceding. The ridges are
narrower and more pronounced, the valleys more
precipitous. There is also a marked tendency for each
ridge to present a central longitudinal division.

A fourth layer of baize was separated from the third
by about 1| inches of sand, and from the bottom of
the apparatus by a similar layer. This fourth layer
of baize differs from the third in somewhat the same
manner as the third differs from the second. The ridges
are narrower, shorter, more precipitous, and more broken
up. The intervening spaces form wide, flat valleys.

In another experiment sand and layers of baize were
arranged as before, but the weight was placed on one
side, in consequence of which the material was more
easily pressed up.

In this case the ridges followed the edges, though not
closely, leaving a central hollow. Here, also, in the
upper layer of cloth the slopes were more gentle, the
eminences more rounded, the hollows less deep. In
the second layer of cloth the country is more rugged,
the elevations higher, the hollows deeper. Here too
several of the ridges have a tendency to become double,
with, in some cases a smaller ridge commencing in the
depression. The elevations and hollows only follow
roughly those of the upper layer. There are two main
ranges, with a broad intermediate valley. One of the
main ridges has secondary transverse folds.

The third layer again has only a general resemblance
to the second. The folds are more numerous, narrower,
and more precipitous.

The fourth or lowest layer presents a central plain,
bounded by two high, one moderate, and one low,
series of hills.

The models seem also to show that some hollows,
which might on the earth's surface have been regarded
as evidence of sinking, are in reality only relative, and
due not to depression, but to the elevation of surrounding
ridges.

184 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

I am proposing to make further experiments with
various modifications, which at some future opportunity
I hope to be permitted to lay before the Geological
Society.

Mr. Hudleston, in course of some discussion
which followed, drew attention to a particular
feature shown in the models, which, as he under-
stood the author, had been mentioned in his
explanation. This was the more acute accentua-
tion of the foldings in the lower part of the
series. So far as his (the speaker's) experience
extended, this peculiarity might be noticed in
certain mountain-ranges. He proceeded to give
instances in point. But the reader whom the
subject interests would do well to look up the
number above quoted of the journal.

On May 22, Lord Avebury was the guest of
Sir Oliver Lodge, giving an address to the under-
graduates of Birmingham, who had elected him
their first Warden, and a few days later he
delivered an address to the Churchmen's Union,
which brought him in a mass of correspondence,
from both laymen and churchmen of various
views. The address is published in his Essays
and Addresses. It is rather curious to find him,
who was at one time regarded with such keen
suspicion by the orthodox on account of his
sympathy with the scientific views of Darwin
and Huxley, now credited with " saying what
needs to be said and preparing the way for the
development of the Church of England," as one
of his commentators has it. In those earlier
days it was difficult for people to believe that
one who held the views of Darwin could harmonise

XXXVI WORK IN THE UPPER HOUSE 185

them with adherence to the views of the Church
of England, and no doubt Lord Avebury's
example and precept did much to make that
harmony credible.

He seldom spoke of his own views on religious
questions, or attempted a definition of his
position. It is rather from his acts and conduct
and the indirect evidence which they afford, that
we have to deduce them, than from any written
or spoken pronouncement. Without doubt he
accepted evolution as a part, and a very large
part, of the process of creation, and had perfect
faith in the great Creator who made choice of
this process by which to work out His plan. In
His hands, without troubling over much about
form or creed, he was content that man and his
destiny should rest, and was disposed to deprecate,
as futile and idle, too anxious inquiry into the
mode in which human destiny was to be fulfilled.
It is with all diffidence that this suggestion is
offered, as an indication of his religious opinions.
It rests on no statement from himself, and has
no more value than an inference from testimony
variously collected. Others, judging from much
the same witness, may have arrived at a con-
clusion very different.

At the end of May, Sir Michael Hicks Beach
(now Lord St. Aldwyn) writes him a letter, which
explains its object fully :

CoLN St. Aldwyns, Fairford,
Glo'stershire, May 30/1903.

My dear Avebury — Some time ago you asked me
whether I thought it advisable that some movement
should be made towards forming a Unionist Free Trade
Association, to combat the Protectionist views which

186 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

seemed to be gaining ground. I believe I replied that
I thought the time was not ripe.

The developments of the last few days are very
alarming : and it looks as if the Unionist party would
be committed to Protection, unless some real effort is
made to organize and work against it. If you are of
the same mind as you were, would it be possible for you
to take an active part in starting such an effort in
London ? I should gladly aid — and I think Goschen
would also. This is an awkward moment to meet.
But I could be in London on Friday next, and could
meet you — and any others you might think it well to
invite— at your house or your Bank at 3 p.m. You
have been, doubtless, more in the way of hearing City
opinion on the matter than I have, for I have been in
the country lately.

The Government seem to be hopelessly divided
between a Free Trade Budget and an after policy of
Protection — and I think it quite possible that the
debate on the Budget may have very unpleasant results
for our party. — Yours sincerely,

M. E. Hicks Beach.

Lord Avebury replies :

High Elms, Farnborough, R.S.O.,
Kent, 1st June 1903.

My dear Hicks Beach — In the first place, welcome
home. I hope you have enjoyed your well-earned
holiday. Please remember us both to Lady Lucy.

As regards our fiscal policy, I should much like a
talk with you. At 3 on Friday I am unfortunately
engaged. Could you come to St. James's Square any
time between 5 and dinner ?

I had a talk a few days ago with Goschen, but we both
thought Chamberlain's suggestions so vague, at present,
that one must see what he would propose.

I am still as convinced a Freetrader as ever ; but
of course Politics and Policy have also to be considered.

Your 1/- duty on wheat seemed to me to be protection
as far as it went, but justified under the circumstances.

Canada having given us a large remission, might we
not meet her to some extent— say by remitting in her
case the 1/- duty ? If other Colonies gave us the same
advantage as Canada might we not give them some

XXXVI WORK IN THE UPPER HOUSE 187

quid pro quo ? Other countries could not complain.
The United States, for instance, give advantages to
Cuba and the Philippines ; indeed as far as books are
concerned they give all other countries an advantage
over us, for the benefit of their own printers.

I am coming reluctantly to the conclusion that unless
some common interests can be brought home to the
Colonies, the British Empire cannot be maintained,
and its dissolution would be an incalculable misfortune
for the human race.

These Islands cannot, I believe, permanently support
the present gigantic expenditure on the Army and
Navy ; and unless the Colonies are prepared to help,
they must be reduced. — Yours very sincerely,

AVEBURY.

He thought it very important that the English
case against the Boers, showing that the responsi-
biUty for the South African War rested with
them, should be distinctly stated, and the
Council of the British Empire League asked him
to draw up a Memorandum on the subject.

The Duke of Devonshire, however, who was
President of the League, expressed some doubts
as to the circulation of the leaflet just at this
moment, for reasons which the following letter
fully explains :

IcKLETON, Great Chesterfobo,
Essex, April ISth, 1903.

My dear Avebury — -I have, as you rightly under-
stood from Murray, been very unwilling that your
excellent leaflet address to the Boers should not be
proceeded with, and I think the Duke's hesitation on
the point of the origin of the War was due to his desire
that nothing possibly controversial should appear under
the aegis of the League (he, the President, being a
Cabinet Minister), while Chamberlain was working at
the resettlement in South Africa.

I believe that if we go back to the Duke now he will
refer to Mr. Chamberlain ; and as I imagine that Mr.
Chamberlain may be disposed to think, as you and I

188 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

do, that the paragraph about the cause of the War
should stand, I am rather inclined to think that it may
be well for me to show the leaflet, as it is, to Mr. Chamber-
lain, and ask whether he thinks there would be any
objection to the League circulating it in South Africa
at the present time.

If he says yes, the Duke will no doubt agree. — Yours
very truly, Robert G. W. Herbert.

On July 7 he presented an address to his
friend, M. Loubet, President of the French
RepubUc, who was then on a visit to London.
He notes that : " He made a charming answer,
holding my hand between both of his all the
time." On his return home he found the follow-
ing letter accompanying the cross of the Legion
of Honour :

Ambassade de France, a Londres,
le 7 juillel 1903.

Cher Lord Avebury— M. le President de la
Republique m'a charg6 de vous porter la croix de Com-
mandeur de la Legion d'Honneur.

Je vous I'envoie en vous priant de la mettre ce soir
a votre cou. Je vous prie de m'excuser de ne pas vous
la porter moi-meme etant oblig6 d'accompagner M. le
President dans ses visites.— Votre bien d^voue,

Paul Cambon.

The occasion referred to by M. Cambon for
" ee soir " was a dinner at the French Embassy,
given by M. Loubet, at which the King and the
Prince of Wales were present.

It has been noticed already that Mr. Frazer,
in The Golden Bough, had not been quite exact
in failing to attribute to Lord Avebury the
credit of first pointing out the distinction
between Magic and Religion among primitive
peoples. Mr. Frazer was now bringing out a
new edition of his fine book, and wrote :

XXXVI WORK IN THE UPPER HOUSE 189

Trinity College, Cambridge,
18th December 1903.

Dear Lord Avebury — In the new edition of my
book I propose to add the following to the note on
p. 63 of the first volume. As it concerns you, I submit
it to you for your approval :

" Lord Avebury has courteously pointed out to me
that the fundamental difference between magic and
religion was dwelt on by him many years ago. See his
Origin of Civilisation, First Edition (London, 1870),
pp. 126, 332 seq., and the Preface to the Sixth Edition
of that work (London, 1902), p. vi. I am glad to find
myself in agreement with Lord Avebury on this subject,
and only regret that in preparing my second edition I
failed to notice that the view here taken has the support
of his high authority."

If there is anything in this that you would wish
changed, please let me know.

I have not heard further from Miss E. P. Hughes
as to the Chinese practice about which we have corre-
sponded. But Mr. Foxwell, who spent some time as
professor of political economy, I believe, in Japan,
told me that he quite believes the practice to exist.
The sum he had heard mentioned as the price of a
voluntary substitute for capital punishment was a
good deal higher than that mentioned to Miss Hughes,
viz. £10. The motive, he understands, is the one
stated by Mr. Eames, namely the desire to benefit the
family and raise it in the social scale. Thus viewed
the practice is really a high form of heroism. Mr.
Foxwell suggested that I should enquire direct of the
Chinese Minister in London, but I have not yet done
so. Has it occurred to you to apply to the Minister ?
He would be much more likely to answer you than me.
— Believe me, yours sincerely, J. G. Frazer.

The " Chinese practice " referred to is the
convenient one of purchasing a substitute in
case of being condemned to the death penalty
for some offence against the law. Lord Avebury
received a very long communication on the
subject from Mr. Bromley Eames, who had

190 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

been for years legal adviser to the Chinese
Government. The gist of it was to show that
such a practice certainly existed.

On August 13 they entered into residence
at the " seagirt Castle," as some writer described
it, at Kingsgate, though it was still in a state
of considerable unpreparedness. Its situation
gave the opportunity for some picturesque
writing, and one provincial evening paper in-
formed its readers that " at high water the sea
washes the very battlements of the Castle." It
did not mention what was happening to the
basement in the meantime.

The Castle makes a great feature in the land-
scape, standing rather like Tantallon Castle,
on the verge of the cliff. Mr. Alfred Harmsworth
(now Lord Northcliffe), living at Elmwood, St.
Peter's, writes expressly to thank him for the
great improvement in the landscape wrought
by the reconstruction.

Sir Mountstuart Grant Duff writes to him
from Colchester, respecting the great annual
feast of bivalves for which that place is famous :

Lexdkn Park, Colchesteb,
September 20th, 1903.

My dear Avebury — There is a great desire amongst
good people that you should be the principal guest at
the Oyster Feast here, on Thursday, the 22nd inst.,
at 1/2 p. 1 o'clock. It is not a political occasion in the
strict sense, like the Colston dinner at Bristol ; but is
nevertheless an opportunity for an eminent public
man to say anything that he wishes to say.

The Mayor after consultation with other leading
personages asked me last night to sound you on this
subject, of course if you say " yes " by letter or telegram
I will immediately communicate with him, and he will
send a formal invitation.

XXXVI WORK IN THE UPPER HOUSE 191

I need not say that we have a " corrupt interest " in
your saying " yes " because, if you do, you will naturally
come to us for a couple of days ; but about this Julia
is writing to Lady Avebury.

Come if you possibly can. It is really a rather big
business and there is, goodness knows ! plenty to talk
about. The Country never more wanted wise guidance.
— Ever most sincerely yours, M. E. Grant Duff.

Apparently, however, he was not able to
accept this invitation, which to a true oyster
lover would have been irresistible.

Mr. Chamberlain's proposal for a retaliatory
tariff against nations, which imposed a heavy
duty on our imports from them, was agitating
the commercial world at this time, and was the
occasion of Lord Avebury's writing to Lord
Brassey :

lOth November 1903.

My dear Brassey — The London Chamber of Com-
merce will have to consider what position it will take
at the spring meeting of the Association, and I think
we ought to submit our views in the form of a resolution
or resolutions. If so, notice must be given before the
end of the year.

Ought we not therefore to be having some meeting
to consider the position ? I enclose two resolutions.
Something like No. 1 we might, I think, put on the
Agenda paper of the Association ; No. 2 I only suggest
as an instruction to our Delegates. You may not
concur, and indeed, I should myself individually prefer
something more definite ; and in any case I doubt not
you will improve the wording.

I should wish to support you, and only throw this
out as a tentative suggestion. — Yours sincerely,

Avebury.
The Rt. Hon. Lord Brassey.

I

That Great Britain has just cause of complaint at
certain restrictions and unfair arrangements directed

192 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

against the Commerce and the Empire, and that the
Chamber of Commerce would support His Majesty's
Government in measures of retahation, provided always
that

(1) Every effort has been previously made in the

way of representation and remonstrance ;

(2) That retaliation should be effective ; and

(3) That it should not seriously injure other branches

of British Manufactures or Commerce.

II

That this Chamber is not prepared to commit itself
to Mr. Chamberlain's proposals, but would carefully
and sympathetically consider any proposals which
would tend to benefit and promote the Commerce
between the Mother Country and the other portions
of the Empire.

Lord Brassey replied that the resolutions
seemed to him very suitable and judicious, and
that he proposed to submit them to the Council
(of which he was President) for private dis-
cussion at an early day. He expressed a hope
that the Government might not hurry either to
a decision on this point or to a general election.

On November 24 Lord Avebury went to Paris
with his daughters, Ursula and Irene. On the
26th he notes :

Lunched with Si^cle at the Cafe Durand. Visited
the Chamber of Deputies and Senate. Received by
President Loubet at the Elysee and had to propose
his health. Banquet at Grand Hotel. Sat between
Falli^res, President of Senate (and afterwards of the
Republic), and Berthelot. Had to speak.

27th. Credit Lyonnais. Lunch at Chamber of
Commerce. Received by the President of the Conseil
Municipale at the H6tel de Ville. Spoke again. Bank
of France. The President sent us his box at the Opera
— Othello. Left in the middle to go to reception at
Palais Bourbon.

XXXVI WORK IN THE UPPER HOUSE 193

28th. The Anthropologists gave me a lunch. British
Chamber of Commerce. Dined with D'Estournelles de
Constant — Automobile Club. Spoke again.

29th. Home. A very interesting and successful
time. Every one most kind.

It is a tolerably full five days for a man who
had not been in the best of health for a month
previously. He does not seem to have suffered
at all from these exertions, for on the very next
day he was at the " Royal Society meeting and
dinner. Sat between Lord Roberts and Curie
(the discoverer of radium)." However, he had
to write from High Elms on December 1 : " Still
lame."

Two days later, notwithstanding, he was again
in London " to see the Duke of Devonshire
about a Free Trade meeting in the City, and
had a long talk with him about the whole situa-
tion. He is trying to keep the Liberal-Unionist
Organisation going on a basis of neutrality,
but does not seem sanguine."

Mr. Chamberlain had arranged for a meeting
in the City to put forward his tariff views, and
there was a strong desire on the part of many
of the City people, including Lord Avebury, to
get the Duke to address a meeting after Mr.
Chamberlain, by way of a counter-stroke.

Proposals were made during the year for
translation of some of Lord Avebury's books
into Welsh, into Catalan, etc. ; but the most
remarkable tribute of all to their world-wide
vogue is given by the University of Allahabad,
which at this time instituted The Pleasures of
Life, as one of the books to be taken up for its

VOL. II o

194 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.xxxvi

degree of B.A. He was constantly having letters
asking leave to translate one or other of his
books into some dialect of India, and in the
East generally they were received with a wonder-
ful acclaim. The quaint idioms employed by
some of those who submit proposals for transla-
tion suggest speculation as to the versions that
they are likely to produce, and one of the corre-
spondents evidently attaches a value to the title
of Esquire, which it has rather lost in our own
estimation. We may be very sure that Lord
Avebury, in his extremely delicate consideration
for the feelings of others, was genuinely pained
when he read of the trouble which he had caused
this sensitive soul. " Formerly," this Oriental
scribe writes, " your Lordship used to address
' Mr.' or ' Esquire,' but I don't know why your
Lordship have omitted in the last two letters.
Although I did not gain or lose anything by it,
but still I wonder."

CHAPTER XXXVII

ACTIVITIES AT 70 YEARS OF AGE (1904)

(Age 70)

In 1904 Lord Avebury attained the age which
the Psalmist rather meagrely allotted as the
average span of man's life. At this time he
was as mentally alert as in his prime, and as
physically active as most men of fifty. He had
a slight figure, walked with a light step, and
the number and variety of his daily tasks were
hardly less remarkable than ever. Mentally
and morally the man of seventy was quite
extraordinarily like the boy of seventeen. In
the case of most men we find that they have
certain tolerably well-defined phases in their
lives. There are points at which we may say,
" Such and such an event happened, and its
effect was to create a marked change in him."
In the exceptional case of this exceptional man
we do not find such change. The character
was formed at an unusually early age, by his
almost premature entry into business life, by
the parental influences, naturally bearing most
strongly on the eldest son, and by the invalu-
able precept and example of the high-souled and

196

196 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

simple man of science, Mr. Darwin, whom he
had the rare fortune to find at his very gates.

Under this uncommon combination of cir-
cumstances the boy became a man really before
due time, and the character then formed remained
serenely steadfast and unshaken until the very
last. He kept his youthful and, in respect of
its simplicity, his almost childlike outlook un-
impaired, and was scarcely less mentally alert
in the last years than in the very springtide of
his days. Changing his pursuits and interest
with an easy versatility which was a perpetual
surprise, he applied the same method of per-
sistent industry, and the same spirit of steadfast
cheerfulness to each in turn. His walk had not
lost its elasticity. Apart from his greyish hair
and beard, his face had a young freshness, and
the charming kindliness of his expression became
even more marked as the years passed serenely
over him.

On January 6 they went for a few days to
Kingsgate, returning to London on the 18th,
and on the 19th gave a ball at their St. James's
Square house. The youngest daughter, Irene,
now Mrs. Pelham, was just coming out.

On February 1 he notes : " Free Food meeting.
Dined at Londonderry's — then to Lansdowne
House — Irene's first party. Much talk with the
Duke of Argyll, Duke of Bedford, and Camper-
down about Fiscal Policy and the Liberal Union
Association. Also with Chamberlain on Fiscal
Policy. He is very confident the Colonies would
meet us halfway. I see no reason to think so."
On the 5th he writes again : " Had a long

xxxvii ACTIVITIES AT 70 YEARS 197

conference with the Duke of Devonshire and
Lord James about Liberal Unionist Association
matters." Three days later the Duke was
speaking at the Free Trade meeting, already
referred to, at the Guildhall — " a capital speech,
and all went off well. I moved the vote of
thanks " is Lord Avebury's account of the
proceedings.

That comment of his on Mr. Chamberlain's
optimism about the Colonies — " I see no reason
to think so " — is characteristic of a rare quality
of his mind which made his counsel very valuable.
Though he had schooled himself also into a
bright optimism of outlook, he never allowed
his hopes and wishes to cloud the clarity of his
vision, never let the wish be father to the thought.

He had to cancel some of his engagements
about this time owing to a bad cold. On March
4 he was working at home, on the Amended
Sunday Closing Bill. " Do not like it," he
writes. " Sent it on to Corbett with suggestions.
Had a long talk with Cochrane about the Early
Closing Bill. Saw Mr. Reeves and suggested a
deputation to the Home Office. Also wrote
suggesting a deputation to shopkeepers." But
the last note, for that day, is " Temperature
up and I was sent to bed." He was not able
to go out for more than a week.

On the 18th they all started for the Riviera
where he had taken the Villa Clythia, at Valescure.
There is a pleasant golf course there, in beautiful
surroundings, and with golf, expeditions to see
the amphitheatre and other remains at Frejus,
and with Lord Rendel to see his extensive

198 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

and beautiful gardens near Cannes, the time
passed very pleasantly until April 23, when they
returned to High Elms.

During his absence he had been appointed
to the office of Foreign Secretary to the Royal
Academy, in succession to Mr. Lecky, and also
to the post of President of the Society of Anti-
quaries.

While he assumed these additional burdens,
he had resigned the Presidency of the Association
of the Chamber of Commerce, Sir W. H. Holland
being appointed to succeed him. A vote of
thanks was passed to him for " the quite excep-
tional services you have rendered the Association
during your term of office " — a testimony to
the keen conscientiousness with which he always
carried out the manifold duties of this nature
which he undertook. \

On the 27th he writes : " Dinner to celebrate
my 70th birthday. All my children, Henry
and Mary, Neville, Conny and Edith, Monty
and Nora, Beaumont and Edgar, R. and Mary
Birkbeck, Ethel with Rolfe, Honoree and
Phyllis. Very thankful."

On May 4 he was in the chair of the British
Empire League, when the Duke of Devonshire
resigned the presidency and Lord Derby was
elected in his place. On the 7th, in spite of its
being " very wet," he went over from Kingsgate
to Sandwich and took part in the Parliamentary
Golf Handicap : " Played against Stonor and
did a fair round, for me, but he won."

Reference has been made already to his models
in sand and baize, showing the mode in which

XXXV.I ACTIVITIES AT 70 YEARS 199

mountains are formed, under pressure. He gave
an account of it, on the 12th of this month, before
the Royal Society, exhibiting the models.

On the 19th his book on Free Trade was
published, and on the same day he gave one of
his breakfast parties to the following guests :
" The Aga Khan, Seth Lowe, Ives Guyot, A. B.
Kempe, Major Craigie, F. Gal ton, L. A. Hanbury,
C. Rothschild, A. Hope Hawkins, F. Macmillan,
R. S. Dickinson and B. D. Jackson." He had
two more breakfast parties this year, and of
the second he writes as " my last breakfast
party " ; but this meant, no doubt, the last for
the present summer only. In spite of this form
of hospitality being " archaic " as one of his
friends ungratefully spoke of it, he always seems
to have collected a large and interesting gathering.

It was in July of this year that he began
working at a paper on the forms of stems.

He was not altogether in accord with some
of the leaders of his party as to the best policy
with regard to promoting the Free Trade prin-
ciples on which they were all agreed. On July
18 he writes : " To a small meeting at Devon-
shire House to consider our Free Trade Policy —
James, Portman, Lichfield, H. Hobhouse, St. Loe
Strachey and Gull. I did not agree with most
of the others, as I thought it would have been
better to have stayed in the Liberal -Unionist
Association and fought the Protectionists."

Some twelve months earlier, as has been noted,
the end of his thirty years' war for early closing
had appeared in sight, and this August saw the
consummation of all his work. They were at

200 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK c„.

Kingsgate, and he had actually been bathing in
the sea, and was none the worse for it. On the
11th he had to go up for the second reading of
the Bill in the House of Lords, and on the follow-
ing day it passed its third reading. The entry
in the diary for that day is curious : " Mr.
Pelham and Mr. Ponsonby came ; also a large
falcon, which sat some time on the terrace. The
Early Closing Bill passed."

The singular point raised in the following
letter from Sir E. Ray Lankester, almost deserves
to rank among the curiosities, in a small way,
of science.

British Museum (Natural History),

Cromwell Road, London, S.W.,

Sept. 2ith.

Dear Lord Avebury — At p. 351 of the 1900 edition
of your Beauties of Nature you say that Wyville Thomson
mentions a kind of Crab (Ethusa granulata) :

(a) Which living near the surface has well-developed
eyes;

(b) When in deeper water eyestalks are present, but
the animal is apparently blind, the eyes themselves
being absent — whilst

(c) In specimens from 700 fathoms, the eyestalks
have become fixed and their terminations combined
into a strong pointed beak.

I am about to figure and describe the original speci-
mens, and what I venture to ask you is whether you
have any notes or reference beyond the quotation from
Norman given by Wyville Thomson at p. 176 of the
Depths of the Sea.

The curious thing is this that you mention three
stages of the eyes whereas Norman only mentions two,
and his specimens only show two. But most curiously
an intermediate stage has turned up from the coast
of Africa, within the last six months ! ! ! I want to
know if perhaps you had some note on the subject
other than what occurs in Depths of the Sea. Of course,
as no figure and only short descriptions were published

XXXVII ACTIVITIES AT 70 YEARS 201

by W. T. and Norman, there is no intention whatever
on my part of making out that you were inaccurate.
I owe to your interesting little book my first knowledge
of the Crab in question, and am very grateful to you
for it. I shall refer to you as an unconscious prophet
if — as seems likely — you were not provided with
unpublished details, — Sincerely yours,

E. Ray Lankester.

It seems as if he really had to be credited
with the gift of prophecy, for he does not appear
to have been at all able to inform Sir Ray
Lankester of the source of his information.

M. Milne - Edwards, however, writes, with
regard to specimens of Cymonomus granulatus,
that " Comme ces specimens habitent des pro-
fondeurs tres variables (de 300 a 350 metres),
on pent conclure que la transformation des yeux
en pointes rostrales est fonction, non point de la
distribution bathymetrique, mais de la distribu-
tion geographique."

That is to say that he thinks the difference is
found in different places, rather than at different
depths, the modification of the eye peduncles to
rostra being a peculiarity of the more Northern
variety, for which Professor Ray Lankester
suggests rank as a separate species under the
name of C. Normani.^

On the 17th they went down, a family party,
Lord and Lady Avebury, Ursula, Irene, and
Harold, to be guests of Dr. Butler, the Master
of Trinity, for the British Association meeting
at Cambridge. There were also, staying at the
Lodge, Mr. A. J. Balfour, Mrs. Griffith, and

1 Expiditions scientifiques du " Travailleur" el du "Talisman" :
Cruslacies Dicapodes, par A. Milne-Edwards et E. L. Bouvier, p. 39.

202 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

others. His notes of the visit are as follows :
" Thursday, to F. Darwin's opening address,
moved vote of thanks. Friday, spoke in the
Economic Section on Fiscal Policy. Saturday,
took the chair at Marr's lecture to the Working
Men, and read a paper on " Mountain Building."
Sunday, Trinity Chapel in the morning. With
Ursula and Irene to do illustrations for my
paper. Monday, read my paper on "Forms of
Stems." Thiselton Dyer made a nice speech,
and it has been well reported. Tuesday, to
hear A. Evans's paper on Crete. Seconded
vote of thanks. Wednesday, home. I had two
talks with Balfour on Fiscal Policy. He ex-
plained that when he spoke of a total reversal,
he only meant in certain cases. He held out,
however, no hope of any good economy and seemed
to think a 5 per cent duty all round might be
necessary, and could not be called Protection !
A most interesting and delightful week."

The report of his paper on the " Forms of
Stems " is worth quotation, both on account of
the interest of the subject, and as showing the
mode of his inquiry and study of Nature.

ON THE FORMS OF STEMS OF PLANTS

Lord Avebury

22nd August 1904

Some plants have round stems, some square, some
triangular, some pentagonal. No doubt there are
reasons for these and other forms, but the author found
no explanation in botanical works.

It is of course important for plants, as for architects,
to obtain the greatest strength with the least expenditure
of material. To do this it is necessary that the plant
should be equally liable to rupture at every point when

xxxvti ACTIVITIES AT 70 YEARS 203

the strain is equal. If not, it is obvious that a certain
amount of material may be removed from the strongest
part without increasing the danger of rupture. If the
stem of a plant, or any other pillar, is affected by pres-
sure— say of wind — one side will be extended and the
other compressed, while between them will be a neutral
axis, and both extension and compression will be greatest
along the surface farthest from the neutral axis. It
follows, therefore, that the strongest form is where the
material is collected as far as possible from the neutral
axis. The two bars cannot, however, be entirely
separate, and must, therefore, be connected by a bar
or bars. This is the origin of the well-known girder.

If the forces to be resisted act in two directions at
right angles to one another, two girders must be com-
bined, one at right angles to the other.

If the forces act in all directions, a circular series of
girders will be required, as Schwendener and others have
pointed out. This is the case in the stems of trees,
where the woody fibres form a ring, only separated in
places by what are known as the " medullary " rays.
This is the reason for the prevalent round form of stems.

The question then arises, Why is this form not
universal ? As regards plants having quadrangular
stems, it may be pointed out that when the leaves were
in opposite pairs, each pair at right angles to those
above and below, as, for instance, in the dead nettle,
the strain of the wind would be mainly in two direc-
tions, and the "double girder" would be the best
form. If so, we should expect to find quadrangular
stems associated with opposite leaves. The author
then took the British flora, and showed that plants
with quadrangular stems always have opposite leaves,
and that plants with opposite leaves have generally,
though with exceptions, quadrangular stems. The
reasons for these exceptions were then considered.

Passing to triangular stems, it was pointed out that
they might be accounted for by the same considerations.
Many Monocotyledons, but not all, have the leaves in
threes. Sedges, for instance, all have more or less
triangular stems, while in grasses they are round.
Now, sedges have leaves in threes, while in grasses they
are in two rows or ranks.

In plants with pentagonal stems the same relation

204 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

prevails. The bramble, for instance, has a stem more
or less pentagonal, and the leaves are in whorls of fives,
a character, as he incidentally observed, which throws
light on the number of petals and sepals. The petals
represent a whorl of leaves, and as a rule, when the
whorl consists of five leaves, the flower has five petals
and five sepals ; while when the leaves are opposite a
whorl would consist of four leaves, as, for instance, in
veronica, where also there are four petals. Thus, then,
the author finally remarked, plants have worked out
for themselves, millions of years ago, principles of con-
struction so as to secure the greatest strength with the
least expenditure of materials, which have been gradu-
ally applied to the construction of buildings by the
skill and science of our architects and engineers.

At the end of the month they were back at
Kingsgate again, and he writes of seeing a large
school of porpoises passing close in by the cliff.

In the middle of October Lord and Lady
Avebury, with Ursula and Irene, were staying
at Alnwick Castle for a few days, and he made
geological excursions in the neighbourhood, to
Bamborough, Warkworth, and various places of
interest. At the end of the month he went for
the day to Sunningdale to luncheon with his old
friends the Hookers. Sir Joseph Hooker was not
only an old friend but a very old man. " Found
him wonderfully well," he writes, " Much talk of
old times. He gave me a medallion of himself."

Lord Avebury had been much dissatisfied
with the way in which the advocates of protec-
tion spoke of coal as a " raw " material, seeing
that so large a percentage of its cost to the
consumer consists in payment of the labour of
its extraction and conveyance, etc. With a view
of finding out approximately what proportion
of the cost would be thus created, he wrote

xxxvn ACTIVITIES AT 70 YEARS 205

inquiring of Sir Arthur Vivian, whose knowledge
of the Welsh coal trade was intimate. Sir
Arthur replies :

November 24,th, 1904,

BosAHAN, St. Martin, R.S.O.,

Cornwall.

My dear Avebury — . . . Very little House coal is sent
comparatively from the Welsh Coal-fields to London —
as a rule, the highly bituminous coal is brittle, and in
our Morfa Colliery we do not in consequence, get 25
per cent of Large in our working, although we have
one good vein, and of an excellent quality. I think
the following figures might be taken roughly to represent
the division of the cost of a house coal, worth 25s. per
ton in London, viz. :

lOs. Cost of working inclusive of 6d. or 9d. per ton

Royalty.
10s. Railway carriage, truck hire, terminals, etc.
Ss. Cartage, commission, storage, rates, waste, and
profit, etc.

25s.

If, as you say, the Royalty should represent the
value of the coal in situ, the profit should be the return
on the Capital employed. I cannot help regarding
myself the present rate of wages (owing to the pressure
of the Trades Union), as far too high for the permanent
benefit of the Welsh Coal Trade, and many of the smaller
Winding Collieries have been stopped, probably never
to be opened again, as the " falls " which occur in the
steep measures, are so extensive when the levels are
no longer watched and kept in repair.

Very many thanks for your kind invitation. I hope
some day you will be able really to come and see me
here. — -Yours sincerely, Arthur P. Vivian.

It shows the variety and wide sympathy of
his outlook, that on November 14 he took the
chair at Bromley at a Salvation Army Meeting,
at which Mrs. Booth was speaking. She dined
with them at High Elms before the meeting, and
Lord Avebury writes : " Ursula and I drove

206 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

her over. She seemed simple and earnest, and
held her audience. What she said was true and
sensible, and not exaggerated."

His book on Free Trade went into a second
edition towards the end of the year. Its success
was, in part, due to the individual and independent
way in which he addressed himself to this greatly
vexed question. One Liberal candidate writes
that he proposes giving a copy to a " leading
resident in each village — not only on account of
its intrinsic merit, but because I think that your
name may induce Conservatives and Liberal
Unionists to read the book. The ordinary Free
Trade Tract they would not look at, and anything
emanating from the Cobden Club they would not
touch with their fingers."

It is quite true that his character and freedom
from any suspicion of violent Party bias gave
a peculiar value to anything that he wrote on a
political question.

The " popular " books, so to speak of them,
continued to enjoy a wonderful success. There
was a second edition of the Esthonian edition
of The Pleasures of Life. The account of this
seventieth year of his life may close with an
extract from a letter received about this time
from a Californian correspondent. It is typical
of an immense number of its kind received from
all parts of the world ; and whatever be Lord
Avebury's place in English literature, it is prob-
able that no other writer has ever had so many
letters of gratitude from readers, unknown to
him personally, of many nationalities.

XXXVII ACTIVITIES AT 70 YEARS 207

My Esteemed Sir— I take the extreme pleasure of
informing you of one of the many who have been greatly
benefited by your noble works, particularly The Use of
Life, and The Pleasures of Life. Nothing better could
I have prayed for than these, no greater fortune could
have been thrust upon me. I can never be too thankful
for having made their acquaintance ; for I consider
them my best friends, they have caused a complete
change, a contrast, in my life. It seemed as if I had been
underground all my life, and suddenly found an exit
to a bright world.

I only wish your books will do for others what they
have done for me. I have health and strength for
which I am very thankful, and now the only thing I
ask the Lord for in my prayers, except the blessing of
others, is that I may acquire wisdom, for with it I can
retain my health and strength, aid others to be happy,
and consequently be happy myself. . . ,

CHAPTER XXXVIII

ANGLO-GERMAN FRIENDSHIP SOCIETY (1905)

Age 71

During the previous year Lord Avebury had
been tolerably free from gout, but had developed
a new propensity to catch rather severe colds,
which had given much uneasiness to Lady
Avebury, who was always his most devoted
nurse in illness, as she was his constant com-
panion in health. But generally speaking in
1905 he seems to have thrown off the disposition
to take chills, and except for one rather sharp
and short attack of something like influenza,
towards the end of November, he enjoyed perfect
health, and made his usual vigorous use of it,
playing golf, taking his children to dances, and
going to many social functions besides pursuing
his political work, business, and various studies.
They did no very extensive touring, as in some
former years, and more and more we find visits
to the now thoroughly comfortable Kingsgate
Castle, taking the place of these longer outings.
He contrived to give his breakfast parties through-
out the season. At one of them the distinguished

2oa

CH. XXXVIII ANGLO-GERMAN SOCIETY 209

Arctic voyager, Dr, Nansen, was a guest, lately
returned from his famous Polar expedition.

He was always keen to win his golf matches,
and his diary generally records their result —
with jubilation, if he were victorious — but he
was not so concentrated on the game as to be
incapable of interest in its natural surroundings.
The present Lord Selby, son of the late Speaker,
told me that he was amazed, when playing golf
with him at Richmond, to see him take a small
bottle from his pocket, fill it with water from
a pond on the course, cork it up again, and put
it back into his pocket. His purpose was to
examine the water under the microscope in order
to discover what small animal or vegetable life
it might contain. I have never seen him do
this, but at North Berwick, when the waiting,
in the congested state of the green, has seemed
interminable, I have seen him occupy the weary
intervals by taking a lens from his pocket and
examining the stones of one of the walls that
cross the course, in order to ascertain the
species to which the lichen belonged that grew
on it.

His artist brother-in-law tells a story of him,
that once, when they were together at the Louvre,
admiring its priceless beauties, Lord Avebury
suddenly became absorbed in contemplation of
a tiny fossil shell in the stone base of one of the
statues. To the mingled amusement and distress
of the brother-in-law's artist soul, he evinced
an interest in this little shell far keener than in
all the masterpieces of art which the great gallery
contained.

VOL. II p

210 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

He was still busy about the Early Closing
and Sunday Closing Bills. " We had a confer-
ence," he writes, on January 19, " of London
Shopkeepers, with the Bishop in the Chair, to
consider the Early Closing Bill, which was
unanimously approved. The Bishop made a
capital speech. They passed me a very cordial
vote of thanks. Incidentally the Sunday Closing
Bill came up, and they seemed very glad to hear
that I was going to re-introduce it. Altogether
we had a very satisfactory meeting." The latter
Bill came up in the House of Lords on March 14,
when he notes : " The Government proposed an
amendment to reject the Bill, but have a Select
Committee. However, we stood to our guns,
and finding that the feeling of the House was
with us, they withdrew their opposition, and
let the Bill through. It is going to a Select
Committee."

In January Lord Goschen writes to him on
questions of finance ; especially with regard to
the stock of gold supposed to be in the country
at different periods. Lord Goschen's main
position is indicated by what he writes of " the
nonsense of our being unable to pay for our
imports without a drain upon us." He calculates
that the surplus import of gold over the export
for the last thirteen years was £42,000,000.
Remarkable figures, coming from a source of
such undeniable authority !

There was some lengthy correspondence on
the same subject between him and Lord Goschen
in April, initiated by a letter to the Times of
Sir Joseph Lawrence with which Lord Goschen

xxxviii ANGLO-GERMAN SOCIETY 211

vehemently, and Lord Avebury rather less
strongly, disagreed.

In May Eric went to Eton, where his brother
Harold had been for some years. Lord Avebury
affectionately writes : " We are very sorry to
lose him," On the 12th a note in his diary reads
rather quaintly : " Received the Diplodocus."
The Diplodocus is that immense reptile which
we regard with wonder and alarm at the Natural
History Museum, and sometimes re-create with
terror in our nightmares. It was given by Mr.
Andrew Carnegie, who attended at the formal
presentation, when it was received by Lord
Avebury on behalf of the British Museum. Dr.
Holland, who had set up the cast, was there also,
and gave a descriptive account of the great
occasion. Lord Avebury, Mr. Carnegie, Sir
George Trevelyan, and Professor Geikie were
the other speakers. The same day he went
" down to the Chamberlains at Highbury. The
Lord Chancellor, Lord Halsbury, Haldane, and
others there — ^a large dinner." The occasion
was the appointment of Lord Halsbury, in
succession to Lord Avebury, as Warden of the
University.

He accepted re-election as President of the
Society of Antiquaries, being expressly urged
to undertake it on account of some little friction
between some of the members at that time.
The trouble was quickly smoothed over, and
peace restored.

He had a disappointment in the summer in
regard to the Sunday Closing Bill. He writes,
June 29 : " The Sunday Closing Bill was down

212 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

for Committee. No notice of opposition nor a
single amendment was put down, so that the
friends of the Bill were not summoned. To our
great surprise both Lansdowne and Spencer
spoke against the Bill, and it was thrown out
on a motion of Wemyss. Felt some indignation,
but though the course was very unusual, am
satisfied that there was no intentional want of
fairness."

A great domestic event of the year, besides
Eric's going to Eton, was the engagement and
marriage of his daughter, Irene, to Mr. E. H.
Pelham, son of the President of Trinity College,
Oxford. They became engaged at the end of
July, and were married in the beginning of
December. The younger daughter was thus
the first to be married. Mr. Pelham was in the
Education Office, and private secretary to Mr.
Birrell when the latter was head of the Board of
Education.

On August 12, Lord Avebury took part
in rather a memorable ceremony, namely :
" Luncheon to the French Fleet at Westminster
Hall. It was a remarkable sight. I was between
Strathcona and M. le Ponsard, Chief Engineer,
Halsbury, Balfour, the Speaker, and Morley,
spoke for us — all well, especially Balfour. The
French seemed very pleased."

An entry in his diary of two days later may
indicate his principal literary activities at this
time : " Am working at an article on ' Books,' at
new editions of The Scenery of Switzerland, The
Pleasures of Life, and Free Trade and at my
Botany book — also at speeches for the opening

xxxvni ANGLO-GERMAN SOCIETY 213

of a public library at Salisbury, and for the un-
veiling of a statue of Sir T. Browne at Norwich."

The Botany book referred to came out at
the end of November under the title of The Life
History of British Plants, and was very well
received. He was at Salisbury opening the
library spoken of, on October 2. On the 18th
he went to Norwich as the guest of Mr. Gurney
Buxton to unveil the statue of Sir Thomas
Browne. Mr. Buxton, in his letter of invitation,
gives him the choice of " a shoot or golf " as an
added inducement. He would have little hesita-
tion in choosing the latter, and indeed, says that
they had a very pleasant game on the Norwich
course, which is a very good one of its inland
kind.

Shooting was not a sport which had at any
time made much appeal to him, but he did take
out a gun now and then, and Sir Herbert Maxwell
has sent me a nice little anecdote about him :
" He was standing at the end of a covert, waiting
for the beaters to come out. A country man was
beside him, either as loader or general attendant.
Beside them was a heap of stones gathered off
the fields. Lubbock, always ready to quicken
the intelligence of any who might be in his
company, said to the man :

' Do you know how these stones were made ? '

' Why, sir, I 'spect they growed, same as
'taturs.'

' Well,' rejoined Lubbock, ' but if they lay
there for fifty years, they would not get any
bigger.'

' No, sir, in course they wouldn't — same as

214 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

'taturs. Take 'taturs out o' the ground and
they stops growin'.' "

The statue of Sir Thomas Browne is in the
form of " a bronze sitting figure, executed by
Mr. Henry Pegram, A.R.A." The writer of the
above adds that " the Corporation of Norwich
has given an almost ideal site for the statue,
facing the spot where he lived for very many
years, and close upon our great City Church,
in the Chancel of which he lies buried." It
was very appropriate that Lord Avebury should
perform the ceremony of unveiling, both on
account of his own eminence in the pursuits
which distinguished Sir Thomas Browne, and
also by reason of his ancestral association with
the county of Norfolk and the possession, still
in the family, of the old property of Lamas.

Professor Davis, of Harvard University, was
at High Elms for one of the Sundays of this
month, and subsequently wrote to him :

Royal Societies Club,

St. James's Street, S.W.,

October 23rrf, 1905.

Dear Lord Avebury — While the recollection of
my brief visit to High Elms is still as vivid as it will
always be delightful, let me tell you at once how much
I enjoyed it — particularly the charming walk with you
and the little conference in the Library on Glacial
erosion. This reminds me of another item ; namely
the lakes of the Engadine which Heim has explained
without any consideration of glacial action. All such
explanations of features in the glaciated parts of the
Alps must, I think, be revised ; it is quite possible, in
the present view of glacial work, that the change in
the place of the watershed between the Inn and the
Maira, which Heim attributes entirely to normal river
work, may be largely due to ice ; and that the little

XXXVIII ANGLO-GERMAN SOCIETY 215

lakes may be, at least in part, rock basins, and not
entirely the result of obstruction by delta barriers.

May I speak of yet another matter ? In your
England, the meandering valley of the Wye is instanced,
if I remember correctly, as an illustration of the meander-
ing habit of rivers, this habit having been explained, in
preceding paragraphs, as the result of free swinging on
open flood plains or valley floors. There seems to be
an omitted item, namely, that the meandering of the
Wye (and of various other rivers whose meanders are
incised, or enclosed, like the lower Seine, the Moselle,
the Ozage) was originally developed on an ancient
valley floor, whose level lay somewhere about the
present hill-tops, and that the present meanders of the
river and of the valley that it has cut are inherited and
increased from the previously developed meanders,
and thus brought into the early stage of the new cycle
of erosion (introduced by general elevation of the
region). Strongly developed meanders in a strongly
meandering young valley, with steep sides and narrow
floor, are not, it seems to me, within the possibilities
of a single cycle of erosion. Strong meanders are
features of normal maturity, and if they occur in associa-
tion with youthful features, such as narrow valleys,
there seems to be no way of explaining them so well,
as by inheritance from a previous cycle, in which
maturity or even old age had been reached. The
Torridge, in Devonshire, I think, is a good example of
a competent, or fitting, incised meandering river ; and
one of its loops has been cut off, leaving an isolated
hill around which the river no longer swings — so it
appears on the new-coloured one-inch map.

Please present my compliments to Lady Avebury
and your daughters, and do not let the seven-legged
Phlebisco be too seriously associated in your small boy's
memory with Standard Natural History. — Sincerely
yours, W. M. Davis.

Towards the end of November he repeated
a visit which he had paid the year before, going
to Sunningdale to luncheon with Sir J. Hooker.
He notes that he found him, in spite of his
advanced age, very well, and that he gave Lord

216 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

Avebury an ingenious micrometer, but Lord
Avebury himself caught a chill and slight influenza
which laid him up, when he returned home, for
a week. On the first day that he was out, after
the attack, he took the chair at the first meeting
of an association of which the object was among
the most important of the many efforts for good
that he made in his life. This was the Anglo-
German Friendship Society, formed for the
purpose of promoting a more friendly feeling
between the two countries. At the end of the
meeting a telegram expressive of goodwill was
sent to the Kaiser, who replied through Prince
Billow :

His Majesty the Emperor has received your lord-
ship's telegram, and I am authorised by His Majesty
to transmit his sincerest thanks to you and to all those
who share your feelings of friendship and goodwill.

Subsequently to his telegram. Prince Biilow
had made a speech in which he spoke of a " pro-
found dislike " of England for Germany. Lord
Avebury on behalf of the Committee wrote to
him :

6 St. James's Square, S.W.,
8lh December 1905.

Dear Prince BOlow — Our Anglo-German Friend-
ship Committee desires me to thank His Majesty the
Emperor for the gracious message he has been good
enough to send us through your Serene Highness.

Our Committee regret to observe that in your
Highness' opinion Germany has " to reckon in England
with a profound dislike towards us."

No doubt certain newspapers seem to be doing their
best to sow feelings of ill-will between the two countries.
We are convinced, however, that the real opinion of
England has been misrepresented to Your Excellency,
and that no such " profound dislike " actually exists. —
I have the honour to be, yours very respectfully,

Avebury.

xxxv.ii ANGLO-GERMAN SOCIETY 217

He also made the following suggestion to
Lord Lansdowne :

6 St. James's Square, S.W.,
9th December 1905.

My dear Lansdowne — You will no doubt have
seen that Prince Biilow has followed up his friendly
telegram to me, by some unfortunate remarks, attribut-
ing to England " a profound dislike " to Germany.

It seems very important if possible to remove this
misapprehension. Do you think His Majesty, who
has done so much for the peace of Europe, could see
his way to send a telegram either to our Committee,
or to the Prince, expressing his sympathy with our
movement, or his conviction that our countrymen
generally are animated by no such feelings towards
Germany ?

Of course this is unusual, and may be impossible,
but the circumstances are unusual.

If it is impossible, or if you think it unadvisable,
please excuse my having troubled you.

If something of the kind could be done it would be
a charming termination (for the moment), of your
tenure of the Foreign Office — a termination which I
need not say that I greatly regret. — Believe me, yours
very sincerely, Avebury.

The King, however, was very ill at the time,
and for that, among other reasons, Lord Lans-
downe could not see his way to commend the
suggestion to His Majesty.

Prince Biilow himself, however, replied to
Lord Avebury in a straightforward and candid
way, which went far to remove the ill impression
caused by the unfortunate words of his speech.

Der Reichskanzler.

Berlin, 13th December 1005.

Dear Lord Avebury — I duly received your kind
letter and I gladly avail myself of this opportunity to
thank your Lordship on my own account for having
promoted by your Caxton Hall meeting the cause of
good relations between England and Germany. The

218 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

hearty and straightforward way in which you treated
this important question will effectually contribute, I
trust, to bring about between our two nations the
understanding and mutual appreciation which we both
desire with equal earnestness. — I remain, dear Lord
Avebury, yours gratefully, Bolow.

It may be noted, however, in spite of the
Prince's friendly tone, that he does not express
any conviction that the " dishke " of England
for Germany of which he spoke is an illusion.

This first meeting made an excellent impres-
sion both here and in Germany, To Britons,
the comments on the German side are of the
greater interest, and one or two of the resolutions
which Lord Avebury received from Germany
may sufficiently show its reception there.

Die Altesten
Der Kaufmannschaft von Berlin.

Berlin C»,
den ISt^n Dezember 1905.

Unsere Ihnen gestern gesandte Depesche, betreffend
die zum Zwecke einer Kundgebung zu Gunsten eines
freundschaftlichen Verhaltnisses zwischen Deutschland
und England am 17. d. Mts. in den Salen des Berliner
Borsengebaudes veranstaltete Versammlung, beehren
wir uns hierdurch unter nochmaligen Beischluss de
einstimmig gefassten Resolution mit dem Hinzufiigen
zu bestatigen, dass ein Bericht iiber die Versammlung
nachfolgen wird.
Die AJtesten der Kaufmannschaft von Berlin.

Kaemph Weigert.

An Lord Avebury, London.

Resolution

Die von den Altesten der Kaufmannschaft von
Berlin auf den 17. Dezember 1905, in die Sale des
Borsengebaudes einberufene und von mehr als 2000
Personen aus fast alien Berufszweigen besuchte Ver-
sammlung begriisst mit Freuden alle Bestrebungen,

xxxvni ANGLO-GERMAN SOCIETY 219

die auf Herstellung und Aufrechterhaltung freund-
schaftlicher Beziehungen zwischen der Englischen und
Deutschen Nation gerichtet sind.

Indem sie die WUnsche fiir ein gutes Einvernehmen
zwisclien beiden Volkern, die in verschiedenen von
hervorragenden Mannern Gross-Britanniens in London
veranstalteten Versammlungcn zum Ausdruck gebracht
worden sind, auf das Warmste erwidert, spricht sie die
tlberzeugung aus, dass ein freundschaftliches Verhalt-
nis zwischen Deutschland und England dazu berufen
ist, nicht nur die Interessen beider Nationen sondern
auch die geistige und wirtschaftliche Entwickelung der
Welt auf das Wirksamste zu fordern.

Post Office Telegraphs

Handed in at Neubrandenburg, Mecklb.

Geemany.

To Lord Avebury,

High Elms, Farnboro, Kent, R.S.O.

Empfangen Mylord aus deutschen Privathausern
den Ausdruck herzlichster Zustimmung zu Ihren
Bestrebungen einer Wiederherstellung alten Jahren
Vertrauensverhaltnisses zwischen England und Deutsch-
land.— Frau Von Klinggraff, Pastor Reiter von Prollius
Stubbendorf, Fraulein von Klinggraff, Kammerherr
von Klinggraff Pinnow, Graf Stahn Siepen, Frau von
Klinggraff Pinnow, Miss Lilly Meyer.

Der Handel svorstand, Niirnberg,
An Lord Avebury, London.

NiJKNBERG, den 30. Dezember 1005.

Unter Bestatigung ihres heutigen Telegramms beehrt
sich die Handelskammer Niirnberg Euerer Lordschaft
folgende gestern gefasste Resolution zur Kenntnis zu
bringen :

" Der Handelsvorstand Niirnberg spricht im Verein
mit den Handelsvertretungen von Fiirth, Erlangen,
Ansbach, Weissenburg, Rothenburg imd Schwabach
voile Zustimmung aus zu den in Deutschland und
England immer entschiedener hervortretenden Bestre-
bungen fiir Beseitigung der Missverstandnisse und fiir
ferneres friedliches Zusammenwirken beider Lander.

220 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

Ebenso wie seither Stammesverwandschaft, historische
Entwicklung und gemeinsame Errungenschaften auf
alien Gebieten menschlicher Kultur beide Volker
vereinigt haben, so erscheint auch jetzt freundschaftliche
Verstandigung geboten, um unverandert in friedlichem
Wettbewerb nebeneinander ihre geistigen und materiellen
Interessen zu fordem."

Der Handelsvorstand, Niimberg, Der Vorsitzende,

SOLDAN.

Der Syndikus, Dr. Heyn.

There are many more of the hke tenor. A
member of the German Embassy in London
writes :

Many thanks for your kind letter. You will have
seen that our public opinion and press is very ready to
grasp the hand of friendship you extended across the
North Sea. The London press might well, I think,
have taken up the movement more than they have done.

I should not like to trouble you with a long letter,
but I feel I must explain the one point you mentioned
in your letter. I know that people in England do not
realise the deplorable effect which has been created in
Germany by the so-called " Revelations " of the Matin.
The English people start from a different point of view,
so they do not understand the sore feeling created in
Germany. You must, however, not forget, that the
" Revelations " were never denied in England, and
that they said England had not only encouraged
Delcass^ to go to war with us, but had even promised
to help him. I am afraid nearly everybody in Germany
believes the story told by the Matin.

Vebein fUb Handlungs-Commis von 1858 in Hamburg.

Manchester, den 20th December 1905.
My Lord — I have the honour to inform you that
at a large Christmas gathering of Germans, engaged in
the commerce of Manchester, the following resolution
was unanimously passed :

" That cordial thanks be accorded to the Right
Honourable Lord Avebury for the eminent services
he is rendering to the two nations in trying to bring

xxxYiii ANGLO-GERMAN SOCIETY 221

about more friendly relations between England and
Germany."

I have the honour to be, my Lord, etc.

There are addresses also from Kiel, Frankfurt,
and many other German towns.

The following is a typical specimen of his reply
to the various resolutions and letters. It is to
the Merchants' Guild at Berlin.

Dear Sir — I have duly received the courteous
resolution passed at your important meeting. It will,
I am sure, be seen by our countrymen with much
satisfaction.

In spite of sensational paragraphs in certain news-
papers, the general feeling in Great Britain is certainly
an earnest desire to remain on terms, not merely of
peace, but of friendship with your great country.

It is, I observe, alleged in one of your leading papers
that the holding of our meeting is "in itself uncontro-
vertible proof of the existence of these hostile feelings
in Great Britain." This is a mistake. Statements
imputing hostility to us, and even an intention of
declaring war having been made several times in
Germany, the object of our meeting was to assure your
coimtrymen that we entertain no such sentiments or
intentions. On the contrary, we recognise in no grudg-
ing spirit how much the world owes to your Statesmen
and Writers, your Philosophers and Men of Science ;
and we hope you will believe that so far from being
animated by unfriendly feelings, the vast majority of
Englishmen respect and admire Germany, and wish
happiness and prosperity to you and your Countrymen.

AVEBURY.

The terrible tragedies enacted on the European
stage since Lord Avebury's death afford a curi-
ously sardonic comment on all these and the like
well - meant efforts to promote a better under-
standing and a rational friendship between the
two great branches of the Teutonic race.

222 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

A rather incautious expression used at this
time by Mr. Bonar Law drew from Lord Avebury
the following :

6 St. James's Square, S.W.,
llih December 1905.

Dear Mr. Bonar Law — As Chairman of the Anglo-
German Friendship Committee I have been requested
to write to the papers in correction of the extraordinary
statement attributed to you that our productions are
excluded from Germany.

I have been careful not to assume that you said so,
as I suppose there must be some mistake in the report.
— I am, yours truly, Avebury.

Mr. Bonar Law replied :

KiNTiLLO, Helensburgh, N.B.,
I2th December 1905.

Dear Lord Avebury — In reply to your note of the
11th, it is hardly necessary to say that I never stated
that " our productions are excluded from Germany " ;
but I have pointed out in the past, and shall no doubt
frequently point out in the future, that our manufactures
are largely excluded from the German market. That
is a statement, however, which would not, I presume,
be questioned by any one who has studied the course
of trade between Germany and this country during the
past 25 years, and who is aware that the average rate
of duty in Germany upon our manufactured goods is
somewhere about 25 per cent.

I may add that I have no sympathy with any feeling
of hostility towards Germany, and have never said
anything to encourage such a feeling. I fully realise
that the Germans have imposed these duties because
it pays them to do so, and I am doing what little I can
to induce our countrymen to act in the same spirit and
adopt also the fiscal system which will pay us best. —
Yours truly, A. Bonar Law.

Lord Avebury's final letter in this short
correspondence touches a vital source of the
" dislike " to Germany attributed to Great
Britain in his reference to the support needed
by Prince Biilow for his Navy Bill.

xxxviu ANGLO-GERMAN SOCIETY 223

15 Lombard Street, E.G.,
Wth December 1905.

Dear Mr. Bonar Law — I do not suppose any Free
Trader would agree with you that our manufactures are
" largely excluded from the German market."

Moreover, if the amount of our trade with Germany
is diminished, and our manufacturers suffer, we maintain
that Germany's trade with neutral markets is still
further diminished and our exports thereby gain as
much as, or more than they lose.

But why single out Germany ? just when relations
are rather strained, and Biilow wants an excuse for his
Navy Bill ? If Germany charges 25%, France, Italy,
the United States and Russia have — as you know —
even higher average duties. — I am, yours sincerely,

AVEBURY.

His summary for the year runs :

There have been new cheap editions of The Pleasures
of Life, The Use of Life, The Beauties of Nature, Free
Trade, and The Scenery of Switzerland. I also brought
out at last my Life History of British Flowering Plants.

Eric went to Eton.

Harold passed his Little-go at Cambridge.

Irene married H. Pelham.

CHAPTER XXXIX

FAILING HEALTH (1906)

(Age 72)

Early in 1906 Lord Avebury suffered a very
grievous loss in the death of his old and dear
friend, Sir Mountstuart Grant Duff. On January
11 he writes : "A sad day. I went to take
leave of poor Grant Duff, who is dying. He
was quite himself but very weak. He took my
hand and asked me to do what I could for Lady
Grant Duff and the children, and then dozed
off, but woke up now and then. When I was
going he asked me to kiss him, and said how
much I had done for him. I was so distressed
that I could not say as much as I should have
liked. He has been a true friend and I shall
cherish his memory. How much we have seen
and done together."

Though so simply drawn, it is a most touching
picture. It was a friendship which was soon
to be linked the closer in his retrospect by the
marriage which took place this year of his daughter
Ursula to Sir Mountstuart's son Adrian. Lord
Avebury was one of the executors, and this
business gave him some little extra work during

224

OU. XXXIX

FAILING HEALTH 225

the year. It was on the day following his
visit that his old friend died.

Lord Avebury wrote an appreciation of him
in the Spectator : " The charming article in the
Spectator. It was so kind and nice," is the
comment on it of the member of the family who
was soon to be his son-in-law.

Lady Ritchie's letter on the subject is so
delightful that it demands quotation :

Dear Lord Avebury — I have just been reading
with sympathetic response your letter about Sir
Mountstuart. How well you have told the history,
and how gratefully I remember his kindness and out-
coming friendly graciousness. Some people seem to
be like Radium, and give and give and never fail.
Lady Grant Duff took me in to see him only a few
days before that sad 12th of January. I thought he
had never talked more delightfully. I am so glad you
have given his old friends the satisfaction of finding
what they are all thinking put into words and fact.

Don't think of answering this ; it is only for my own
satisfaction that I write, not to give you trouble. —
Yours always sincerely, Annie Ritchie.

He was pressed at this time to become President
of the Moral Instruction League, but though he
sympathised in a measure with its objects, he
declined — one of the reasons given for his decision
being that he was not " so young as he was."
It is the first time that we find him sounding
this note of recognition that he had lost any of
his youthful energy. It is possible enough that
his old friend's death may have given him an
intimation that his advancing years claimed a
little more consideration than he was at all
disposed to pay them.

VOL. II Q

226 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

He writes in answer to the request that he
should undertake the Presidency :

Dear Sir — I am flattered by the wish of the Com-
mittee that I should be nominated for the Presidency
of the Moral Instruction League.

There are, however, two points on which I should like
some information :

(1) Does the League oppose Bible teaching, or only
endeavour to secure Moral teaching ?

(2) What would be expected of the President ?

I am not so young as I was, and my time is very
much taken up.

Apart from the question of age, he did not
find himself in entire sympathy with the aims
of the League, and writes finally :

Dear Sir — I have now carefully considered the
papers you have been good enough to send me.

So far as the importance of Moral Instruction is
concerned I am heartily with the League, and might
have been ready to accept the Presidency on the under-
standing you mention.

I fully recognise also the difficulty of introducing
dogmatic teaching into State supported schools.

On the other hand, it seems to me a mistake to mix
up the two questions.

The Bishops advocate " Christian " teaching. In my
view this does not necessarily imply dogmatic teach-
ing, from which the sayings of Christ were singularly
free. Dogmatic theology is in the main a subsequent
addition.

However this may be, we weaken, as it seems to
me, our effort to secure moral teaching (which by itself
would have very wide support) by coupling it with
the struggle to exclude Dogmatism.

Under these circumstances, though I am quite ready
to remain a subscriber to the League, I feel that the
President ought to be able to support both its principles,
and I fear, therefore, I must ask you to excuse me.

He thought it would be desirable to have a
resolution in the House of Lords on the subject

XXXIX FAILING HEALTH 227

of Sunday Trading, and consulted the Archbishop
of Canterbury, urging him to move it. To
which the Archbishop rephed, fully approving
the terms of the resolution and promising it his
support, but affirming emphatically that Lord
Avebury, and none other, was the man to
introduce it.

Accordingly, on March 9, he brought forward
in the House of Lords his motion on what he
now terms Sunday Shopping, rather than Trading,
and carried it without a division. A Joint
Committee of both Houses was appointed to
consider it, and he was elected Chairman. The
Committee reported strongly against Sunday
Shopping, and in favour of legislation to give
effect to that view. The Committee took up
much of his time during the summer.

This year, as has been observed, we hear him
for the first time speaking of himself as capable
of somewhat less than his youthful power of work.
Nevertheless, by way of exhibiting how much,
even at this date of comparative leisureliness,
he was able to put into an ordinary day, we may
note his entry for February 8. He had gone
down the previous day to Liverpool. We may
be very sure that he had done several hours'
work at one or other of his books before the first
entry for the 8th of " British and Foreign Marine
Insurance annual meeting at 11.30. Then to
the University, where the V.C. (Dale) and
Herdman showed me round. Then to lunch
at the University Club, where Mr. A. Theodore
Brown had invited the V.C, Major Ross, Professor
Shevington, Herdman, Mr. Carse, and Mr. Moore.

228 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

Then to Formby and had nine holes of golf.
Then a deputation of Liverpool tradesmen about
Early Closing. Then the Library and Philo-
sophical Society's dinner. I spoke on the future
of Europe and the necessity for economy." It
is not a bad day's work for a man of his age,
though for him by no means an unusual one.

" The Future of Europe " is the title of an
article from his pen in the Nineteenth Century
for March of this year. M. E. de Constant
writes to him with reference to it :

Pakis, le 14 mars 1006.

S^nat.

Cher Lord Avebury — Je regois enfin votre article,
" The Future of Europe."

Je vous en felicite et vous en remercie. Je le fais
traduire en Fran9ais.

Pouvez-vous m'en donner 400 tirages k part (si vous
en avez) et meme 700, pour les membres du Comit^ de
Conciliation Internationale et pour les membres du
Groupe de l' Arbitrage ? Je me chargerais de le leur
envoyer, ce serait bien utile et bien opportun.

Egalement pouvez-vous demander a M. Shaw-
Lefevre de m' envoyer ce qu'il a 6crit pour la limitation
des d^penses navales ?

Je vous envoie par ce courrier le discours que j'ai
prononc6 au S6nat sur ce sujet. — Affectueusement k
vous, D'Estournelles de Constant.

And this further letter from M. de Constant
refers to the International Conciliation movement
in which Lord Avebury had taken a foremost
part in Great Britain.

Cher Lord Avebury — J'ai pu constater le bon
effet de votre gdnereuse et sage initiative.

De mon c6t^ je fais mon possible pour contribuer a
am^liorer les relations franco-allemandes.

Le jour ou, de part et d' autre, nous aurons r6ussi,
vous pour I'Angleterre et moi pour la France, alors il

XXXIX FAILING HEALTH 229

sera utile, je crois, de coordonner notre action. D'ici
la nos efforts, tout en convergeant vers le meme but,
doivent continuer a rester ind^pendants.

C'est ce que j'ai expliqu6 a rexcellent M. Fox en le
chargeant pour vous de mon meilleur souvenir. — Votre
cordialement devoue,

D'ESTOURNELLES DE CONSTANT.

P.S. — En raison de I'^tat des esprits en France et
des facheuses manifestations r^centes en Allemagne,
j'ai strictement borne mon action a des d-marches
privees, reservant pour une autre fois Taction publique.

J'ai ete satisfait du langage du prince de Biilow que
j'ai vu longuement, et, en general, des sentiments qui
m'ont ete exprimes par toutes les personnalites alle-
mandes que j'ai rencontrees.

Nous avons eu, dimanche, notre premier diner de
la Conciliation Internationale sous la presidence du ■
Professeur Foerster qui est pour vous, comme pour moi,
im auxiliaire de tout premier ordre.

Mr. Karl Blind, who wrote, much in advance
of his time, on social subjects, was appreciative
of Lord Avebury's efforts for a better inter-
national understanding.

My Lord — As a reader and admirer of your scientific
works, for many years past, and being grateful to you
for the courageous and righteous part you have taken
for restoring friendly relations between England and
Germany, I trust you will allow me to send, by this
mail, a number of the New Age, which contains the
beginning of an article, by me, on the same subject. —
Believe me, yours faithfully, Karl Blind.

At this time Lord Avebury and Mr. Karl
Blind were not personally acquainted, but an
introduction was effected a little later in the
same year, when Lord Avebury was acting
something of the part of a national entertainer
to some distinguished German visitors, Mr.
Blind took much interest in British politics, and

230 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

was a member of what he himself writes of as
the " Duke of Devonshire's Free-Trade Club."

The Duke was more in accord with Lord
Avebury on this Free Trade question than other
leaders of the party. The diary of February 15
notes : " Party meeting at Lansdowne House.
Balfour opened, then the Duke of Norfolk
proposed a vote of confidence in him as leader,
and Colonel Sanderson seconded. The Duke of
Devonshire made a Free Trade protest. Chamber-
lain answered, and Hicks Beach rejoined. Hugh
Cecil spoke, asking if we were to be everywhere
opposed, and got no satisfactory reply ! The
speeches were all good and conciliatory, but
the result will, I feel, be disastrous if Protection
is to be really the policy of the Party."

On the 21st of the same month he writes :
" Shop Hours Committee meeting at Cannon
Street Hotel. The Bishop of London could not
come, so I took the chair. Everything was very
harmonious. They also passed a unanimous
vote in support of our Sunday Bill. Then to a
meeting of the Unionist Free-Trade Club. Some
of them very militant. I took the line that we
can do more for Free Trade by acting as loyal
members of the Unionist Party on other questions,
and this was, I think, the general feeling."

On March 9 he " moved the House of Lords
that Sunday Shopping required the serious and
earnest attention of H.M. Government. The
Archbishop of Canterbury supported strongly,
though advocating more inquiry. The Govern-
ment (Tweedmouth) accepted, and offered a
Joint -Committee. Lansdowne approved, but

XXXIX FAILING HEALTH 231

was also for more investigation. The Duke of
Northumberland, Kinnaird and I maintained
that the inquiry had been very thorough and
we did not see what more information could be
gained. We accepted, however, the Joint Com-
mittee, which no doubt is a step gained."

The Presidency of the London Institution
was an office which he relinquished this year,
owing to " advancing years." A resolution was
unanimously passed by the proprietors :•

That we greatly regret the retirement of our President,
Lord Avebury, from the Presidential Chair of this
Institution : and desire his Lordship's acceptance of
our warm and sincere thanks for the services he has
kindly rendered in that capacity during the past
twelve years.

Lady Avebury had been far from well towards
the end of March, and mainly for her health
they went to Valescure early in April, returning
home on the last day of the month. The change
and the sunshine appear to have set Lady
Avebury up again, and he also enjoyed his time
there, playing golf and making expeditions.

Both on account of his exertions on behalf
of a better understanding between Great Britain
and Germany, and also because both his scientific
and his popular books were well known in that
country, he was distinctly a persona grata to the
German nation. This year London was visited
by two distinguished bodies of German guests,
the first being a company of burgomasters of
some of the more important German towns,
and the second of fifty editors of German news-
papers. He took an important part in the

232 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

entertainment of both sets of visitors. Lord
Lyveden, on behalf of "the German visits
organising Committee," invited him to take the
chair at a dinner to the burgomasters, styled
the Anglo-German Friendship Banquet, at which
some three hundred were present, and a day or
two later he escorted the visitors to be presented
to the King at Buckingham Palace. " The
King," Lord Avebury writes, " shook hands with
them, and made them a very nice little speech.
Then to luncheon at the Mansion House — about
a hundred and fifty present."

The visit of the editors was in the latter end
of May. Lord Avebury writes on the 21st :
" About 50 German editors are over, I took
them to the Lord Chancellor, and then to Haldane
on the House of Commons terrace, and in the
evening took the chair at the dinner. There
were about 300. The Lord Chancellor and Bryce
made the principal speeches on our side. H.
Spender also was good. Dr. Barth made an
excellent one from theirs."

Three days later he " took the German editors
over the Natural History Museum," and the day
following " to Windsor. They laid a wreath on
the Queen's tomb. Luncheon was in the Orangery.
It was a fine day, and they all enjoyed it very
much — or seemed to do so." The day following,
the " Lord Mayor gave them a sumptuous
luncheon at the Mansion House " — which, we
may hope, for the sake of the amity of nations,
they also enjoyed very much, though Lord
Avebury does not tell us so.

The Duke of Argyll wrote to him strongly

XXXIX FAILING HEALTH 233

pressing him to accept the Presidency of the
Committee for organising the Franco - British
Exhibition, which it was proposed to hold in
London in 1908. But he dechned the rather
onerous post, though expressing all sympathy
with the objects of the Exhibition.

On May 9, just after his return from the
Riviera, he was at work again, doubtless under
the impelling influence of his friend Lord Courtney,
at the old task on which they had laboured
in common — proportional representation. He
writes, under that date : " We had a proportional
representation meeting at St. James's Square.
Courtney, Westlake, Sir F. Pollock, Sir J. Gorst,
Bernard Shaw, and the Bishop of Hereford spoke.
The speeches were all good, and some amusing."

Later in the year Lord Courtney is again
urging him to further exertions in the same
cause. The Proportional Representation Society
had organised an illustrative election. Some
thirteen thousand voting papers were sent in,
and altogether it was a great success. At
Woolwich, especially, the working men showed
great interest in it.

Lord Courtney writes of it :

15 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, S.W.,
December 5th, 1900.

My dear Avebury — Our Election promises to be a
great success. We shall probably have about 10,000
voting papers. The counting will begin to - morrow
night (Wednesday) at 6 o'clock at Caxton Hall, West-
minster. If you can come, as you half-promised, come
about 5.55 and call us to order at 6 sharp, when I may
say a few words — the fewest possible, so that the counting
shall go straight away.

Encouraged by our great success we shall try our

234 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

old method and the Tasmanian method, and we expect
the first stage to be over by 7.30, when there will be ^
hour for refreshment, and the whole business concluded
not later than 9.30.

The mechanical arrangements are very good, and
more than half the Counties will have had a previous
drill, so that there ought to be no hitch.

Come and start us if you can. — Yours faithfully,

Courtney of Penwith, M.K.C.

In July the Sunday Closing Committee brought
out their report. On the 16th he writes : "They"
(the Committee) "agreed that Sunday Trading
was on the increase and ought to be restricted,
that the fines should be increased, and that the
shop assistants should have a rest one day in
seven," and, three days later : " We finished our
report. They accepted the fines we proposed
and practically the exemptions, leaving, however,
the hour over. So that they have really agreed
to all the essence of the Bill, and strongly recom-
mended legislation. Beauchamp, however, for
the Home Office, wished the drafting left over,
and considered that to recommend a particular
Bill was outside our reference. This seems to
me absurd, but for the sake of getting the recom-
mendation unanimous I agreed."

Up to the end of July his health had been very
satisfactory all this year, but on the 27th he had
gout and took to his bed, and was suffering more
or less all the following month. It was not until
August 21 that he was able to get downstairs to
breakfast, and his note on Monday, August 6,
his own special Bank Holiday, is rather pathetic :
" Still ill, and have never before been so helpless."
It was during the course of this illness that his

XXXIX FAILING HEALTH 235

daughter Ursula became engaged to Adrian, the
son of his old and lately gone friend, Sir Mount-
stuart Grant Duff, and the engagement was a
source of mixed satisfaction and sorrow to him,
for he writes : " Ursula has accepted Adrian
Grant Duff. We shall miss her terribly, but I
have much confidence in Adrian, and believe that
he will make her happy." They were married
on October 22, and went to Italy for the honey-
moon. In the meantime Lord Avebury, with
the elasticity of his wonderful constitution, had
quite regained his health, and there are many
entries recording golf, generally at Mitcham, in
the diary for this month. His illness, however,
had obliged him to break several engagements.
He had been invited to open the extended
building of the Liverpool Museum, and also to
go to York for a public function, which he had
to give up. He retired, at the end of the year,
from his directorship of the London Trust
Company. On the other hand, he accepted the
Presidency of the Sociological Society, of the
Royal Microscopical Society, and also of the
British Constitutional Association, none of which
involved many attendances.

The Constitutional Association published this
year, as one of its leaflets, a paper by Lord
Avebury, On Municipal and Government Trading}
He remarks that in his book with the same title
he had endeavoured to prove (and saw no reason
to change his opinion) :

1. That Local Expenditure is increasing more rapidly
than rateable property.

' Municipal and National Trading, by Lord Avebury (Macmillan, 5s.).

236 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

2. That Local indebtedness is increasing more rapidly
than rateable property.

3. That Municipal Trading cannot fail to give rise
to difficult labour problems, and may lead to serious
corruption.

4. That profits are only made, if at all, when munici-
palities have a monopoly ; they are confined to businesses
such as the manufacture of gas, which has long been
established and reduced to regular rules ; that even in
such cases the accounts have been so kept as to make
it impossible to determine what the real result has been ;
that the profit, if any, has been but small ; and that much
more satisfactory and remunerative results might have
been obtained if the works had been leased to private
companies or firms.

5. That Municipal Trading has seriously interfered
with private enterprise and commerce.

6. That the State management of railways is open to
similar objections ; that on State railways the fares are
higher, the trains slower, fewer, and less convenient, and
that to introduce questions of railway management into
the domain of politics is open to serious objections.

7. That it is imwise to give votes to those who pay
no rates, and unjust to withhold them from those who do.

8. That Government and Municipal Trading by
reducing the demand for labour, while increasing prices
and raising rates, has injured, not only the ratepayers
generally, but especially the working classes ; and if
carried to its logical conclusion it will involve the loss
of their freedom.

The leaflet proceeds to develop these pro-
visions, and its second part is devoted to argu-
ments against the Government's operation of
such services as railways and telegraphs.

In December he was at Eton, staying with
Dr. Hornby, as the principal guest, on Founder's
Day. He returned thanks for the " Guests,"
and proposed the familiar toast of " Floreat
Etona," coupled with the headmaster's name.
Dr. Hornby had mentioned, in writing to him,

xxx.x FAILING HEALTH 237

that they designed the function that year to
have something of the character of a welcome
to Natural Science, and this, of course, they
were the better able to impart to it with Lord
Avebury as one of the guests. Presumably it
was to be taken as a sign of a more liberal and
modern outlook of the School beyond the classical
boundaries. There were also at the dinner
Professor H. Miers, the Waynflete Professor of
Mineralogy at Oxford, and Professor G. C.
Bourne, the Linacre Professor of Comparative
Anatomy at the same University — old Etonians,
both.

CHAPTER XL

RECOVERED VIGOUR (1907)

(Age 78)

The London Municipal Society, in 1907, was
fighting the London County Council Election
on the side of economy, and Lord Avebury,
with one or two others, was asked to speak his
views into a gramophone. The speeches were
then fired off, night after night, in different parts
of London, until the day of the election. It was
a novel mode of appeal, which attracted the
electors and, it was claimed, had much effect
on the elections. He also read part of a chapter
from one of his books into the gramophone at
the same time, and the record was deposited at
the British Museum, with other records of a
like kind.

Early in the year they were at Kingsgate,
and he relates that " an angler-fish, about 3 J
feet long, was thrown up on the beach. The
coastguardsman informed one of the footmen
about it, the footman told the nurserymaid, the
nurserymaid told Maurice (the youngest of his
children), and by that time it had become a
whale ! "

238

OH. XL RECOVERED VIGOUR 239

It was about this date that Lord Avebury
began to work at a new book, for which he chose
the title Peace and Happiness. A more appro-
priate title for a book from his pen could not
easily be found, for he was a typical incarnation
of these two excellent human attributes. Doubt-
less his sources of happiness and content were
very many, though his life had its troubles like
those of other men. Yet there are few anniver-
saries of his birth on which he does not end the
entry in his diary with the words : "I have
much cause to be thankful." We may admit
that he had cause, and may be confident that
the words came from his heart. Besides the
busy fulness of his life, which in itself must
have been most satisfying, he was fortunate in
the devotion of Lady Avebury and in the
friendly affection of all his children. It was a
real friendliness, as of coevals, which existed
between father and children. On March 2 of
this year he notes : " Took Maurice to his first
pantomime — Sindbad." It is a pleasant picture
presented : and we may be sure that the father,
through the enjoyment of the son, had scarcely
less delight than the boy himself in this drama
of great marvels. One of his entries this year
runs : " Eric went back to school. He is a
dear fellow and as good as gold. He has been
acting as my secretary, and we have been working
at pollen together. I always miss the boys
when they go to school, but never more than
this time."

At another date he says, " Eric enters so
into all my pursuits, and likes being with me so

240 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

much, that I really feel the boy is as keen as I
am, and does not only do it out of affection,"

Except for a few colds and minor ills, he was
in excellent health and vigour all through this
year, playing golf energetically, and giving his
breakfast and other parties. One of his breakfast
guests, who also came to his house at other times
as a visitor, was probably the most popular man
in England that year — " Mark Twain."

In February he was asked by the New York
press to telegraph his views as to a reform of
the American Currency, which was urgently
needed. His observations in reply were ex-
tensively circulated in the United States.

On the 25th he brought in a Bill to amend
the law relating to Debentures, on behalf of
the Bankers, the Chambers of Commerce, and,
in fact, the whole commercial community. A
recent decision had reversed the commonly re-
ceived interpretation of the law, and thrown
things into confusion. The Bill passed the House
of Lords, and the Government introduced its
provisions into their Companies' Act Amendment
Bill, which covered other ground as well. In
May, when the Bill itself came up, he proposed
several other amendments which were agreed to
in the Lords. His views on Free Trade met
with a good deal of kindly response in France,
where the question of income-tax was being
discussed at this time. The following letter on
the subject is interesting both on its own account
and for Lord Avebury's reply :

XL RECOVERED VIGOUR 241

Le Matin, Paris,
Ce 2 mars 1907.

Cher Lord Avebury— Je vous serais bien recon-
naissant si vous vouliez nous dire, pour notre gouverne
personnelle, votre opinion de I'impot sur le revenu en
Angleterre. Nous aimerions savoir, ici, d'un homme
aussi competent que vous, si cat impot est populaire
en Angleterre.

Vous savez que le gouvernement fran9ais a I'intention
d'etablir I'impot sur le revenu en France. La question
agite enorm^ment le pays et, d'une fagon generale, le
projet est excessivement impopulaire.

On a repondu aux critiques du gouvernement qu'en
Angleterre, en Am^rique et en Italic les peuples se sont
soumis avec facilite a cet imp6t. Nous aimerions
savoir si cette opinion est exacte et, dans le cas oil
cela ne serait pas — et oil vous-meme vous partageriez
cet avis — vous seriez dispose a ecrire pour le Matin,
sous votre signature, un article pour faire ressortir que
Tincome-tax ne plait pas au peuple Anglais.

Dans le cas oii vous-meme, parce que vous seriez
d'un avis contraire, ne seriez pas dispose a nous 6crire
cet article, pourriez-vous nous recommander un homme
anglais, dont le nom est connu en France qui, croyant
sinc^rement que I'impot sur le revenu en Angleterre
est mauvais, voudrait nous faire cet article ?

Agreez, cher Lord Avebury, mes sentiments les plus
devoues et les plus respectueux. Jules Hedeman.

In answer he sent the following reply :

En r6ponse a votre lettre je peux dire que le " Income
Tax " n'est pas populaire en Angleterre mais qu'il est
difficile de le diminuer parce qu'il ne frappe que le
minorite.

On peut aussi dire qu'il n'est pas juste parce qu'il
pfese egalement sur le revenu provenant de I'effort
individuel, comme par exemple celui d'un medecin,
d'un avocat ou d'un commergant, et sur le revenu
provenant des Rentes ou des obligations de chemins
de fer.

Chez nous cependant c'est un impot qui date de
longtemps quoiqu'a present il soit plus elev6 qu'a
I'ordinaire. II y aurait une plus grave objection si

VOL. II K

242 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK «..

c'dtait un imp6t nouveau. A mon avis, il est toujours
injuste de changer le syst^me des imp6ts. Quand il y
a longtemps qu'ils existent, tout s'accorde avec eux —
les gages, les heures et les conditions du travail, etc. ;
mais en introduisant un nouveau syst^me, on boule-
verse, on derange tout ; on comble les uns de bienfaits
et on accable les autres de nouveaux fardeaux.

Lorsque c'est absolument necessaire, comme en temps
de guerre par exemple, on est oblige de prelever de
nouveaux imp6ts afin de distribuer les charges de I'Etat
aussi justement que possible. Quand on le fait, non
par besoin, mais pour faire orofiter les uns aux depens
des autres, alors il me semble que ce n'est ni juste ni
sage. AvEBURY.

Although his various activities were still so
many, we find him yet again this year declining
several suggestions that he would almost certainly
have complied with when he was a little younger.
He was invited to deliver the " Herbert Spencer "
lecture at Oxford, but did not feel that he was
able to undertake it, and it was again suggested
to him that he should accept the Chairmanship
of the London County Council, but this also he
felt obliged to decline. Mr, Hugh Chisholm, then
editing the new edition of The Encyclopaedia
Britannica, wrote asking him to contribute two
articles, one on Representation and the other
on the Vote, but he replied that he did not feel
that he had the needful leisure for their writing.

He continued, however, to take the chair
at very many meetings and dinners. On April
15, for instance, he was in the chair at a meeting
in Exeter Hall on the income tax, and this,
incidentally, led to his taking the presidency of
the Income Tax Reduction League. A week
later he gave his presidential address to the
Society of Antiquaries, and in the evening took

RECOVERED VIGOUR 243

the chair at their dinner ; and two days after
that again he was in the chair at a Proportional
Representation meeting. These are not to be
reckoned as anything approaching an exhaustive
account of the pubhc functions which he pre-
sided over or attended, but merely as typical
of his activity in this direction at a time when
he deemed that he was shaking himself com-
paratively free of his burdens. Proportional
Representation engaged much of his atten-
tion during June, when he was sitting on Lord
Courtney's House of Lords' Committee on the
question.

In July he carried the Limited Partnership
Bill through the House of Lords, and it sub-
sequently passed the House of Commons. It
was introduced at the request of the Chamber of
Commerce, and legalised here the Commandite
system which had been found to work well on
the Continent and in the United States.

They moved down to Kingsgate in the summer,
and while there he had the shock of hearing
of the sudden death, from heart failure, of his
youngest brother Edgar. Earlier in the year he
had lost one of his older friends in Sir Michael
Foster, but the death of Edgar, quite a young
man, was tragic in its surprise. Only in this
very year the younger brother had written a
note of thanks for Lord Avebury's congratulations
on his appointment as Deputy-Governor of the
Bank of England. He had said how he looked
forward to the work as a change from the brewing
business, in which he had been engaged for
thirty years.

244 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

Some of the French papers confused the
identity of Edgar with Lord Avebury, and sup-
posing it to be the distinguished eldest brother
who was suddenly dead, had highly eulogistic
and sympathetic accounts of his life and deeds.
He had thus the unusual experience of reading
some of his own obituary notices. A personal
friend and fellow geologist, M. Margerie, wrote
to Lady Avebury :

Tailleville, par la Delivrande
(Calvados), 11 septembre 1907.

Madame — J'ai et6 profondement attrist6 d'apprendre
hier, par un journal, la mort de votre cher et venere
mari. II y a quelques semaines, j 'avals eu I'honneur
de lui ^crire, pour repondre a I'aimable invitation qu'il
s'dtait donn6 la peine de m'adresser, a propos du
Centennaire de la Soci6t6 G6ologique de Londres. Je
me faisais une fete de me retrouver, pour quelques jours
ou quelques heures, dans la compagnie de cet homme
excellent, dont la science egalait la bonte !

II y a plusieurs annees deja que nous ne nous etions
rencontres ; mais, a diff^rentes reprises, les envois
qu'il voulait bien me faire de ses travaux me permettaient
toujours d'admirer sa lucidite, son ferme bon sens, et
surtout, si j'ose dire, son incorrigible optimisme. La
est, sans doute, le secret de la sympathie qu'il inspirait
a tous ceux qui I'approchaient : indulgent, autant que
modeste, il ne pouvait pas avoir d'ennemis !

Je ne suis pas qualifie pour apprecier son ceuvre,
comme savant, dans le domaine de ses etudes favorites :
Biologic et Archeologie prehistorique. Mais ce que je
puis affirmer, e'est que, comme Gdologue, il nous a
rendu les plus grands services : son petit livre sur la
structure des Alpes Suisses a fait p6netrer les r^sultats
de maint travail technique dans I'esprit de bien des
gens qui, sans lui, n'en auraient pas eu connaissance.
Je me souviens encore de son juvenile enthousiasme a
la vue des grandes cuisses de I'Oberland, quand nous
Etions ensemble a Miirren en 1894 !

Oui, dans toute la force du terme, c'est une belle
ame qui s'en va !

RECOVERED VIGOUR 245

Daignez agreer, Madame, I'expression de mes con-
dol6ances les plus respectueuses et les plus sympathiques.

Emm. de Margerie,
Ancien President
de la Society Geologique de France.
44 rue de Fleurus, Paris VI.

The above was followed, rather more than a
week later, by a letter of apology to Lord
Avebury himself:

Tel 1. Chezal-Gaknieh,

PAK Neuvy Pailloux (Indre),

September 22nd, 1907.

My dear Lord — I must congratulate you, first, and
thank you for your amiable words. I was misled by
an announcement in the Parisian paper Le Journal of
September 10th, where the confusion with your brother
was accentuated by a somewhat detailed account of
your own scientific (and political) career, presented as
the deceased Lord's (sic) curriculum.

It is, really, too kind of you to insist again for receiving
my visit. I may assure you it shall afford me great
pleasure. Being unacquainted, as yet, with the details
of the arrangements taken by the Geological Society,
I can only state that my plan should be to stop at
Kingsgate in coming back from Cambridge — say the
2nd or 3rd of October, and ask you the permission to
defer more particulars till I am in London. — Very
respectfully yours, Emm. de Margerie.

Will you excuse me, before Lady Avebury, for my
letter of the 11th inst. ?

The following brief letter of misplaced con-
dolence is wittily redeemed by its sequent.

La Cassine, par Vendresse
(Ardennes), 12. Ix. 07.

Je viens d'apprendre la douloureuse nouvelle de la
mort de Lord Avebury, et je me fais un devoir d'adresser
a Lady Avebury I'expression de ma profonde et respec-
tueuse sympathie. Cette perte sera vivement ressentie
par tous les amis de la sienne, et nul ne lui donnera
plus de regrets que moi, qui venais d'etre tout recemment
de la part du d6funt, I'objet d'un temoignage flatteur

246 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

par I'offre d'hospitalit6 si gracieuse dont il avait bien
voulu m'honorer. • A. de Lapparent,

Secretaire perpetuel
de rAcad^mie des Sciences.

La Cassine, Vendhesse
(Ardennes), 18. ix. 07.

Cher Lord Avebury — J'applaudis de grand coeur
a la resurrection que vous m'annoncez, heureux de
penser que prochainement j'aurai I'occasion de m'en
assurer moi-meme ; car je serai a Londres le 26, le
President de la Societe G^ologique de France, en ce
moment malade, m'ayant prie de remplir a sa place la
delegation et de presenter I'adresse de notre Society.

Avec mes respectueux hommages pour Lady Avebury,
et mes regrets de lui avoir inflige im veuvage injustifie,
je vous prie de me croire — Votre tout ddvoue,

A. DE Lapparent.

Lord Avebury felt his brother Edgar's death
very keenly. " The youngest of us," he writes,
" the first to go ! A terrible blow and quite
unexpected. A most useful life, and most loved
by us all. He was most kind to all his brothers
and sisters." Of the funeral he says, " There
were many more there than I had expected,
including the Governor and several of his Bank
of England colleagues."

The occasion to which M. Margerie refers as
likely to bring him to London, and later to
Kingsgate as Lord Avebury's guest, was the
centenary of the Geological Society. Many of
the geologists, both British and foreign, went
to Kingsgate after the meeting in London, and
Lord Avebury records that he found their visit
of the greatest interest. It was an interest
keenly reciprocated, as several letters from foreign
correspondents show. His old friend. Dr. Heim,
the leading geologist of Switzerland, writes :

RECOVERED VIGOUR 247

Zurich, V., 25. x. 1907.

My dear Lord — I always remember with great
pleasure the delightful and charming day of tranquillity
and peace I passed at Kingsgate Castle. It was a day
of beautiful rest in the struggle of life. . . .

From London I wrote a card to my bookseller
(Miiller) in Zurich, to command to him, to send to you
my papers : Geschlechtsleben and Ballonfahrt, and I hope
you will find some interest in it, especially in the first-
named. To read The Use of Life is, as my daughter
said, " better than to go to church."

From London I went to Oxford, a town full of interest
and a curious mixture of old and new mind, which would
not be possible, for instance, in our country. We had
a delightful excursion to Stonesfield. Returned to
London, I spent again two days in the Kensington
Museum. One should rather have two weeks. The
beauties of the Museum and the interest I took in many
specialities of it, made it impossible to give the time
for a visit to Cambridge.

On the 7th October I was obliged to be in Zurich.
In Brussel I had a most interesting day with Rutot in
the Museum. He showed me his recently-found flint
implements out of a stratum underlying marine oligocene,
and convinced me of the oligocene man. The most
striking is the comparison of the implements of the
Tasmanian 50 years ago with Oligocene Man in Belgium.
There is a wonderful accuracy ! Tasmanians were
" oligocene men," a pity that they are extinct ! . . .

In the autumn he wrote a letter to the Times,
which was followed by some correspondence
on the subject of Old Age Pensions. Lord
Lansdowne writes to him in reference to it :

DORREEN, KeNMARE, Co. KeRRY,

September 20th, 1907.

My dear Avebury — I have been reading with great
interest the correspondence in the Times initiated by
you upon the subject of old age pensions. The discussion
has been most instructive, and we are all indebted to
you for having started it.

I am, I confess, profoundly alarmed at the outlook.

248 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

The present Government have, in effect, committed
themselves to the poHcy, which, in my opinion, is a
disastrous one. Asquith will, no doubt, try to discover
a moderate solution of the difficulty, and it may perhaps
be possible to do something in the way of the encourage-
ment of thrift by the State. I have always been in
favour of discriminating between deserving and un-
deserving poverty, and mitigating to some extent the
severity of the workhouse system. But this is a widely
different thing from what is asked for by the Trades
Union Congress.

My object in writing, however, is not to express my
views upon a subject of which I have no special know-
ledge, but to ask you where one can get Blackley's
paper, to which you and others have referred. I see
you speak of no less than five public Inquiries into the
subject of old age pensions. Is there any one of these
which is more deserving of careful study than the rest,
or is there any witness whose evidence is particularly
worth reading ?

The note of warning which you sounded in the
House of Lords, in the debate upon the Appropriation
Bill, was indeed needed. — Yours sincerely,

Lansdowne.

The Right Hon. Lord Avebury.

In November he was asked to send across the
Atlantic a message of goodwill on the successful
installation of wireless telegraphy spanning the
great ocean, and this message, which appeared
in the New York Times of October 18, was the
first ever thus transmitted.

The same month he was elected Rector of
St. Andrews University for the following year, in
succession to Mr. Andrew Carnegie, who writes
him in congratulation :

Two East Ninety-First Street,
New York, November 12ih, 1907.

Dear Lord Avebury — Hearty congratulations upon
your election as Lord Rector of Saint Andrews
University.

RECOVERED VIGOUR 249

Glad you are my successor, am certain you are to
fall under the charm of that oldest of Scottish seats of
learning.

Have just read your cabled views upon National
Banks here. It could not be obtained, the people are
unwilling to create one, but we hope to get Congress
to allow Banks to increase circulation, say 20 or 25%,
upon their assets without pledging Government Bonds,
but paying a fine increasing as the amount swells, so
that only in emergencies will Banks keep the extra in
circulation.

This meets the views of the Banking Association.

We hope also to invite Governments to make treaties
for Arbitration with us, the President Secretary of State
and Senate being now nearly in accord.

With renewed congratulations and best wishes. —
Very truly yours, Andrew Carnegie.

The Emperor of Germany visited England in
the winter, and the Anglo - German Friendship
Committee took the opportunity to present him,
by Lord Avebury's hand, with an address express-
ing the hope that goodwill might prevail between
the two great branches of the Teutonic people.
Lord Avebury was very anxious to have a clause
in the address insisting on the mutual benefit of
diminishing, or at least arresting the growth of,
armaments, but from the German side, when
the draft of the proposed address was submitted
to them. Count Metternich requested the omission
of the clause.

In answer to the request Lord Avebury writes :

6 St. James's Square,
November \st, 1907.

Dear Count Metternich — My colleagues would
very much regret to omit the clause about a reduction
of armaments.

They consider that the gigantic armaments of
European Countries constitute a danger to the peace

250 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

of Europe ; that the enormous taxation they involve
is a great drawback to the prosperity of both Germany
and England, and must increase the present tendency
to discontent and socialism.

My colleagues do not underrate the practical diffi-
culties, and the paragraph only refers to reduction as
an object to be aimed at. They had hoped there was
general unanimity so far, and that the paragraph was
not therefore controversial.

However, we agree that an address of welcome
should be worded so as to be acceptable, and if you
still wish it they will therefore omit the passage, and
consequently the following paragraph. — I am, yours
very sincerely, Avebury.

His Excellencv, The Count Metternich.

To which Count Metternich replies :

London, November 1st, 1907.

Dear Lord Avebury — I am much obliged for your
letter of to-day.

The question of the limitation of armaments has
been up to a recent date a controversial one amongst
the Governments represented at the Hague Conference.
The English and German Governments held, as is well
known, different views on the subject. No Govern-
ment has, so far, been able to find a formula by which
the armaments question could be usefully approached.
Many people in this country and elsewhere have expressed
the opinion that an international discussion of the
question would at present do more harm than good.

The limitation of armaments being a question of
controversy and in no way connected with the
Emperor's visit to England, I could not help saying,
on my opinion being asked, that it had better be left
out of your address.

One may be a lover of peace and yet believe that
the question of armaments is not ripe for negotiations
in the present state of European affairs.

It seems to me that your Committee is taking the
right line in fostering peace by trying to strengthen
the friendly feeling between our two nations. Before

RECOVERED VIGOUR 251

you can, with any hope of success, ask the great nations
of Europe to limit their means of defence you must
first alleviate any feeling of distrust which may prevail
among them. This, your Committee has been doing,
and I venture to express the hope that you will continue
in your efforts which are, at the same time, humanitarian
and useful, as every high-minded person in Germany
and in England will gratefully acknowledge.

I have explained my views at greater length to Mr.
Fox to-day, and I feel sure that, in its present shape,
your admirably worded address of welcome will give, as
it is meant to give, much pleasure to the Emperor. —
Believe me, yours sincerely, P. Metternich.

Lord Avebury felt that the point, thus in-
sisted on, must be yielded, but concedes it with
the final protest :

6 St. James's Square, S.W.,
November 2nd, 1907.

Dear Count Metternich — Thanks for your letter.
I had hoped that at any rate Germany, France and
England might have come to some understanding as
to armaments.

If the present gigantic expenditure continues your
manufacturers and ours will find it more and more
difficult to compete with those of the United States
and other less heavily burdened countries.

I fully share your views of the importance of culti-
vating friendly feelings, but the increase of armaments
tends terribly in the opposite direction.

However, or should I say moreover, I can imagine
no difference of opinion between our two countries
which may not be arranged by a little of that friendly
feeling which I hope and believe really exists on both
sides. — Believe me, yours very sincerely, Avebury.

His Excellency, The German Ambassador.

P.S. — I hope you will not think I am taking too
great a liberty in expressing my views but I have, as
you know, special opportunities of forming an opinion.

252 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch. xl

and if the present state of things continues I foresee
great danger to all thrones, and the certainty of suffering
to your people and ours.

He notes that " The Emperor was very
gracious. He talked some minutes with the
deputation and spoke strongly of the importance
of peace and goodwill to both countries."

CHAPTER XLI

ADDRESSES IN SCOTLAND (1908)

(Age 74,)

The range of Lord Avebury's activities was so
wide and the rapidity with which he passed from
one subject to another so remarkable, that its
record is apt to become just a little bewildering
to a mind accustomed to a more sober pace and
less varied interests.

On January 15 of this year he writes :
" With Alice and Eric to St. Andrews to be
installed as Lord Rector. The Students received
us at the station most kindly and their red gowns
made a very effective scene. The girls lined the
stairs. They dragged us to Donaldson's, stop-
ping in the Quadrangle, where he made a little
speech." Sir James Donaldson was the Principal.
The following day Lord Avebury was installed as
Rector, given the degree of LL.D., and delivered
his address. The students were on their best
behaviour and made an excellent audience. In
the evening he dined with the Professors and
made another short speech, afterwards meeting
the students in the Library.

On the 17th he received the Delegates from
other Scotch Universities and spoke again. He

253

254 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

dined at one o'clock with the students, and in
the afternoon had tea with them. After tea
they had a dance.

On the 18th he played golf in the morning
and made an expedition in the afternoon to the
Spindle Rock.

On the 20th he was at Dundee, where he went
over Messrs. Cox's works, had luncheon at the Club
and afterwards gave an address on Free Trade,
When the address was over the students met him
and dragged the carriage to the College, where
there were a few short speeches. Finally he was
escorted to the station, where the students sang
songs till the train came in. Altogether it was a
most successfid time. He received many highly
appreciative letters about the Address which may
be read at length in the St. Andrews University
Magazine, called College Echoes.

" Thanks," writes one of his friends whom he
had not met for a long time, " for your altogether
charming address, the most delicately and subtly
delightful thing of the kind I have ever read. I
hope it will be published in full very shortly and
made very widely accessible. It is the brightest
and most hopeful and stimidating talk to young
men on the relation of true culture to happiness
and to duty, and it would do real good to have
such an address widely distributed, not only
among people such as you spoke to, but among
the members of Workmen's Clubs and all kinds
of such bodies."

" You had a happy inspiration," is the phrase
in another letter, " and clothed it in taking
language."

ADDRESSES IN SCOTLAND 255

Referring to his Free Trade speech at Dundee,
which the Cobden Club pubhshed, Lord Welby
writes :

11 Stratton Street,
February 8th, 1908.

My dear Avebury — I have read your speech before
sending it on to be printed. It is the best defence of
Free Trade which I have seen for a long time — admirable
— and the Cobden Club is doing a real service to the
cause in publishing it.

I confess I have become anxious about the future of
the cause. Our intelligence is that the tariff reformers
are working all they know in cottage and public.

I am afraid the majority of the City are tariff
reformers. Is there any means, think you, by which
the sensible moneyed men east of Temple Bar could be
brought to appreciate the danger which threatens ? —
Yours sincerely, Welby.

Sir Swire Smith writes, referring to the same
speech :

Steeton Manor,
Nr. Keighley,'
March 27th, 1908.

Dear Lord Avebury^I have just read your little
pamphlet on Free Trade and with all my heart I thank
you for it. Tariff Reform is filling the air and it must
be met by our best men. One does not often after
reading a book presume to write to the author, but
in this instance I wish to say how grateful to you every
patriotic Englishman — who realises the danger before
us — must feel for your sacrifices in preparing that
address and in going to Dundee to deliver it. But
your labour will be repaid. I began by marking the
paragraphs that impressed me by their weight and
force, and I find that I have marked nearly every
paragraph in the address — which is just packed full of
" nuggets," arranged in the orderly fashion of the author
in his unexampled simplicity and directness of aim.
And I venture to predict that any fair-minded and in-
telligent enquirer who reads it will find more facts and
arguments in favour of our present system than in all
the writings and speeches of the Tariff Reformers put
together.

256 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

You have supplied a perfect armoury for Free Trade
speakers, and therein you will find your " exceeding
great reward " in giving so substantially of your best,
in defence of our country's well-being. — With all good
wishes, believe me, yours sincerely, Swire Smith.

Lord Avebury also had some correspondence in
the Times, with Mr. Bonar Law, on Free Trade.
It is perhaps superfluous to say that the arguments
of neither conveyed the sUghtest conviction to
the other.

He was much occupied with the business of
the Chamber of Commerce. In fashion eminently
British they " had a dinner to discuss gold
reserves." He was in the chair at this dinner
and made the opening speech on the subject.
It resulted in the appointment of a committee
of which he was Vice-chairman, the Chairman
being Sir A. Spicer, the President of the Chamber.

On March 16 he was speaking in the House
of Lords in favour of a Proportional Representa-
tion Bill introduced by Lord Courtney. It was
carried in the Lords and referred to a Committee
which eventually "reported in its favour. On
the following day he reintroduced the Shops
Sunday Closing Bill, and the day after that
delivered the presidential address, on " Seeds,"
to the Royal Microscopical Society. He gave
up the Presidency of the Society of Antiquaries
this year, receiving a very appreciative vote of
thanks for his services.

He was working at intervals at his Peace and
Happiness book, and in the midst of these and
various other occupations received the letter
below from Sir F. Darwin.

ADDRESSES IN SCOTLAND 257

13 Madingley Road,
Cambridge, March 24<A, 1008.

Dear Lord Avebury — There is going to be a
memorial volume of essays next year in connexion
with the Centenary of my father's birth and the jubilee
(though we shall avoid this horrid word) of the Origin.
The editor wants an article on " Darwinism and Politics "
or " Politics in relation to Evolution " or some such title.
Do you think you could see your way to writing such
an article ? The idea is to have articles comprehen-
sible to the educated layman, and therefore not too
technical.

We shall probably get F. Galton to write on Eugenics,
which would be the only article that could clash with
one on Politics, and such clashing could easily be avoided
by arrangement.

If you are inclined to help us, will you let me have
an approximate title. Of course the above titles are
the merest suggestions — we leave the scope of the essay
to you.

I think the average article will be 15 to 20 pp., large
8vo. — Yours sincerely,

Francis Darwin.

It was a suggestion which made a strong appeal
to him, for many reasons, but he did not quite
see how to treat the subject, and after some
consideration thought it best to decline. He did
accept, however, the proposal conveyed in the
following invitation :

East Oakley House, Oakley,
Hants, May 8th, 1908.

Dear Lord Avebury — It was the unanimous wish
of the Committee on the Darwin-Wallace Celebration,
at their meeting yesterday, that you should be requested
to give a short address at the Celebration on July 1st,
and I was asked to write to you on the subject.

It is suggested that your remarks should follow the
presentation of the medals to the 7 selected recipients,
and their replies.

It was felt that your old friendship with Darwin and

VOL. II S

258 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

the close association of your work with his, rendered it
peculiarly appropriate that you should speak on this
occasion, and I very much hope that you may be willing
to do so, for I am sure that your participation will add
very greatly to the success of the celebration.

It is not proposed to have any other speakers, beyond
the President and the medallists or their representa-
tives.

The medallists chosen are : Wallace, Hooker, Haeckel,
Strasburger, Weismann, Galton and Lankester.

Hoping very sincerely that you may be able to do
the Society this further service. — I am, yours very
truly,

D. H. Scott.

As the time for the meeting drew near he
wrote to Dr. Wallace inviting him to one of the
breakfast parties, which he still continued. Dr.
Wallace writes rather sadly in reply :

Broadstone, Wimborne,
June 23rd, 1908.

Dear Lord Avebury — Thank you very much for
your kind invitation. I regret that I have for years
been obliged to renounce such delights as breakfasts
with my friends. I have been obliged to adopt the
plan of ' no breakfast,' and ' no dinner ' either — only eating
once, in the middle of the day, which I find the only
means of keeping off attacks of asthma, and keeping
me in such health that I can still do a little work.

I shall probably come up to the " celebration " on
the 1st, for the day only, as there are convenient trains,
and that will involve less fatigue and risk than a more
prolonged stay away from my household gods.

Allow me to wish every success to your Bill for
preserving beautiful birds from destruction.

To stop the import is the only way — short of the
still more drastic method of heavily fining every one
who wears feathers in public, with imprisonment for
a second offence. But we are not yet ripe for that. —
Yours very truly,

Alfred R. Wallace.

xLi ADDRESSES IN SCOTLAND 259

He had introduced the Bill, of which Dr.
Wallace speaks, under the title of the " Importa-
tion of Plumage Bill " in May. It was carried
through its third reading in the Lords in July,
but lost in the House of Commons. A like fate
also befell his Municipal Voting Bill. He did
carry through certain amendments to the Old
Age Pensions Bill, but not that on which he had
most set his heart, which was to introduce the
contributory principle, on the German Model.
The Shops Sunday Closing Bill also went through
its third reading in the Lords, only to be lost in
the Commons. It will be noticed that his legis-
lative measures had not the same success after
his accession to the Upper House, and it seems
most natural to ascribe the lesser success in
some degree to the absence of his most simple
and, perhaps on that very account, most per-
suasive eloquence in the place where these
measures were in the greatest danger and where
their opponents were most numerous and active.
In May he was before a House of Commons
Committee, giving evidence in favour of the
Daylight Saving Bill. It was a Bill of which
the provisions, if they had become law during
his life, would have affected him far less than
most men, for his habits had been much those of
a Daylight-saver all his life through.

An interesting appreciation of the Duke of
Devonshire is given in his diary in a short and
epigrammatic form which is full of meaning. It
is under date March 24 : — " In the afternoon the
sad news came of the death of the Duke of Devon-
shire. He has, I think, been oftener right and

260 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

seldomer wrong than any of our other leaders."
It is praise as high as it is discriminating. On
the 28th he writes : " Memorial service for the
Duke of Devonshire. What a loss ! "

A loss which touched Lord Avebury even
more closely in personal relations was that of
Sir John Evans who died a few weeks later in
the same year. Lord Avebury writes of him as
" One of my oldest and greatest friends. It has
been one of the privileges of my life to have
enjoyed his friendship."

He was at Kingsgate when he received this
sad news. He had gone there after a visit to
Avebury, with his daughter, Mrs. Pelham, and
his old friend Mr. Philip Norman, to see some
excavations that were in progress — opening out
an old ditch. He found that the diggers were
down about fifteen feet and had disinterred
many bits of Norman pottery down to a four-
foot depth. Below that were Romano - British
evidences down to six feet three inches, and at
seven to eight feet British pottery, which he
ascribes, with a query, to the Bronze Age.
Near the surface, or about one foot down, they
had found a pipe which he dates approximately
at the Jacobean time.

They were at Kingsgate the greater part of
June, and at the end of the visit he notes :
" While we have been here I have worked at
(1) Obituary notice of poor Evans, (2) Propor-
tional Representation Society's address, (3)
Darwin jubilee address, (4) Correcting proofs
of Society of Antiquaries' address, (5) Royal
Microscopical Society address, (6) New Edition of

ADDRESSES IN SCOTLAND 261

Free Trade and (7) my new book." Such were a
few of his self-set hohday tasks even at the age
which he had now reached. He was very well
and active, however, physically as well as men-
tally, this year, in spite of a few minor illnesses.
He played golf when he had the opportunity.
The Kingsgate golf course is within the distance
of a full drive of the garden of the Castle. The
early autumn was passed at Kingsgate with occa-
sional visits to London. They had bought a new
house, 48 Grosvenor Street, and slept in it for the
first time on August 30. Lord Avebury writes that
he regrets the old St. James's Square house, but
that the new house is " nice and bright and in
some ways more convenient." On October 18
he went with his daughter, Mrs. Pelham, to
Edinburgh, where they were the guests of Lord
and Lady Salvesen. He had been invited to give
the opening address to the Royal Scottish Geo-
graphical Society, and the secretary had suggested
the "Scenery of Switzerland" as a suitable subject.
In previous years the Society had been addressed
by such distinguished men as Sir Henry Stanley,
Dr. Nansen, Captain Scott, R.N., Lord Roberts,
Sir G. T. Goldie, and Lord Milner. On the even-
ing of his arrival in Edinburgh he went to a
dinner of the Merchants' Company, and made a
speech, and on the following day gave his lecture
to the Royal Geographical Society. The Presi-
dent of the Society was his old friend, Professor
James Geikie.

Later he received the " Livingstone " Gold
Medal of the Society, with the following minute :

262 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK

CH. XI.I

Royal Scottish Geographical Society,
Synod Hall, Castle Terrace,
Edinburgh.

Extract from the Minutes of Council of The
Royal Scottish Geographical Society, at a meeting
held on the 8th October 1908, Professor James Geikie,
D.C.L., LL.D., F.R.S., President of the Society, in the
Chair.

On behalf of the Recommendations Committee the
President intimated that the Committee unanimously
proposed the award of the Society's Livingstone Medal
for 1908 to The Right Honourable Lord Avebury,
P.C, D.C.L., LL.D., F.R.S., "for his valuable con-
tributions to Geographical Science." This award was
unanimously approved by the Council.

At the end of November he spoke at the
Royal Society's dinner and in December presided
at a meeting of the Proportional Representation
Society in Caxton Hall where they had an
illustrative election. It was so far successful
that out of 21,000 voters there were only 17
spoilt papers.

CHAPTER XLII

EFFORTS FOR FREE TRADE (1909)

(Age 75)

It is one of the most grievous conditions of our
human hfe that if it be prolonged at all beyond
the normal span each successive year is inevitably
marked by the loss of now one and now another
of the friends whose sympathy has done much
to give life its value. Lord Avebury's lot was
in many ways an exceptionally happy one. The
young wife whom he had married in his middle
age repaid his affection with a whole-hearted
devotion, and his relations with his children had
the friendliness of a brother's love united to the
protective authority of a father : yet, as the
years went by, he could not evade the shadow
cast by the death of some most near and dear.
As we have seen, the first of his brothers to be
taken was the youngest, Edgar, and in all the
early part of 1909 Lord Avebury was very
anxious about the health of Beaumont. Of all
the brothers, Beaumont was the one on whom
the painful family heritage of gout had always the
strongest grip, and it became apparent that his
fine constitution would not be able to endure
its repeated attacks much longer. Rolfe, also,

263

264 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

Lord Avebury's son, had for long been in most
indifferent health, so that the year opened with
a double anxiety. There are entries in the diary
recording that the state of one or the other
invalid became so critical that he hurried to see
him, fearing the worst, and then again that the
account was better and that there was hope of a
rally. But finally on March 19 he writes : " Poor
Beaumont died, after a long illness most patiently
borne. He will be much missed and much grieved
for."

On May 5 his diary says, " Bad news of Rolfe,"
and on the 11th, " The sad news of poor Rolfe's
death — a terrible loss."

After these two blows it is little wonder that
on his silver wedding day, only a week later, he
writes : " Our silver wedding. We had looked
forward very much to it, but it is all so sad.
We had many nice presents and kind congratu-
lations,"

During all this year his own health seems on
the whole to have been good. He was very
variously busy, and played golf frequently. One
of his games was with Lord Selby, the Speaker,
but in November of this year he, another of
Lord Avebury's old friends, was taken.

No doubt it will be readily understood that,
many as were the public functions which he
fulfilled during his life, the addresses and lectures
that he delivered, and so on, they were as nothing
in comparison with the requests which were
made to him, requests that he would often have
liked to comply with, had even his wonderful
economy of time made it possible. Anything

XL.. EFFORTS FOR FREE TRADE 265

that had to do with adding lustre to the name of
his old friend and mentor, Charles Darwin, came
with a special appeal to him. Mr. Alington, head
master of Shrewsbury School, writes to him at
this time asking him to give the boys a " chance
of really knowing a little more of their most
distinguished representative " and praying him
to give them a lecture on Darwin. Under all
the circumstances, however, he felt himself unable
to undertake it. He regretted the severance in
this year of his long connection with the British
and Foreign Marine Insurance Association, which
was taken over by the Royal. His colleagues on
the board gave him a handsome piece of plate in
recognition of his services as their Chairman. He
was President of the City Free Trade Association
and took the chair at their meeting and was
active in opposition to that Budget, introduced
by Mr. Lloyd George, by the rejection of which
the House of Lords went far towards signing its
death warrant. In December he had an article
on the Budget in the Nineteenth Century. He has
kept, among his correspondence, the following
letter from Miss Marie Corelli, which came to him
rather as a surprise, since he had not suspected
this very popular writer of an interest in matters
of national finance.

Jrrivate. Mason Croft,

Stratford -on- Avon .

Dear Lord Avebury — I hope I may, on the privilege
of a brief acquaintance, take the liberty of writing you
these few lines.

I have followed with keen attention your discussion
with Mr. Lloyd George on the evil idea of the Land Taxes,
which are already causing misery by the dismissal of

266 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

hundreds of workers on landed estates, who had thought
they were safe for life.

If Mr. Lloyd George wants the Four Millions he writes
of to-day, why not copy the sagacity of the French
when they raised the huge German indemnity ?

They taxed every advertisement (beyond a certain
size) a halfpenny — and this applied to all hoardings
and announcements at Railway Stations and other
places. It was a simple tax to which no one made any
objection, it was paid readily, and not felt. It was not
a tax which drove people off the land, as the one now
proposed will do.

In France, too, at that time every one paid a half-
penny on theatre tickets above five francs.

A tax on public advertisements would be scarcely
felt by any one. Newspaper men could charge a little
more for advertisement space — and really the tax
would harm no section of the community, while it
would bring in a huge sum.

Forgive me if I dare to make this humble suggestion
to one of your wisdom and perspicuity — but I am a
witness of the daily despair of agricultural toilers who,
having their little homes on estates where the owners
have ever been their friends and helpers, are trembling
lest they be turned adrift to shift for themselves else-
where, all through the real cruelty and short-sightedness
of the proposed tax which will drive them off the land.
And it seems to me that there are many things which
might be taxed in preference to the soil on which man,
with much labour, gets his bread.

Do think of an advertisement tax ! it would be what
the French did most successfully. There was a half-
penny stamp tax, too, on every magazine and news-
paper— and even this would be far better than taxing
the land.

I have not seen you since you kindly supported me in
saving the Shakesperian property here— but I always
read all you say. — Sincerely yours,

Marie Corelli.

July 1, 1909. Mr. Lloyd George asks you " how to
get the four millions." There are plenty of ways —
even by taxing other " luxuries " than advertisements.

xLri EFFORTS FOR FREE TRADE 267

On March 1 he writes : " Last week I carried
a resolution at the Council of the Chamber of
Commerce that we should not support the Protec-
tionist resolutions to be moved at the meeting
of the Associated Chambers of Commerce. The
Protectionists called a special meeting to rescind
this, but the feeling was against them, and
eventually we agreed to an adjournment sine
die, so as to let them down easily.

" March 2. Meeting of the Associated Cham-
bers of Commerce. Belfort moved a Protec-
tionist resolution and there was a long debate.
I spoke on the Free Trade side. Eventually the
resolution was carried by a small majority, but
as it required two-thirds, nothing will be done."

On the 3rd he was again speaking at the
Chambers of Commerce, first on Forestry and
then on the report of the Banking Committee.

His energy continues to seem inexhaustible,
and he was wonderfully well and active. On
April 30 he notes : " My birthday. Very kind
letters. I am thankful for so many blessings.
Royal Academy dinner — sat between Fitzmaurice
and the Danish Minister. Saw a great number
of old friends. During the Easter holidays I
have been principally working at pollen. Eric
has been helping me. At the dinner Asquith
referred to the portrait of Lloyd George which,
he said, would be viewed with interest and
mixed feeling. Lloyd George was next but one
to me, Fitzmaurice being between us, and he
turned round and said, ' Many of them would
certainly like to see me hung on the line.' "

He had his breakfast parties still going at

268 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK oh,

this time. After one of these, on May 6, he
writes : " First meeting of City Free Trade
Committee. They asked me to write them a
manifesto in favour of Free Trade. At 1.30,
meeting of Bankers. They asked me to write a
manifesto against the Budget, to be considered
next week. Meeting of the Council of Foreign
Bondholders at 3. Was re-elected President.
At the House of Lords carried three amendments
to the Government's Electric Lighting Bill,
against Municipal trading. Eric went back to
Eton. Shall miss him very much.

"May 7. Golf at Richmond with Sir H.
Graham. Annual meeting of Selborne Society.
A large gathering and many interesting exhibits."
It all hardly reads like the journal of a man who
is feeling the weight of years and is shaking off
many of his burdens. Yet this, in fact, it is.
He spared himself no trouble, however, in the
campaign against Protection.

Early in the year he had received a letter from
Mr. C. F. Mallet, who was acting as honorary
secretary to the Free Trade Union, asking him
to take the chair at a Free Trade Demonstration,
of a non-party character, to be held in London.
He assented to the request, and later notes in
regard to it : " Took the Chair at a Free Trade
meeting at the Queen's Hall, which was quite
full and admirably organised. The Prime
Minister, Balfour of Burleigh, Sir Swire Smith, and
H. Vivian spoke. I spoke about a quarter of an
hour, and was very well received."

He had been invited, "as one of Charles
Darwin's oldest friends," to " make a short speech

xLii EFFORTS FOR FREE TRADE 269

in the Senate House at Cambridge, on June 23,
at the presentation of addresses." This was on
the occasion of the Darwin centenary, which it
gave him keen regret to be unable to attend.
His old friend Sir J. Hooker writes touchingly
with reference to his absence :

The Orchard, Huntingdon Road,
Cambridge, June 24tth, 1909.

My dear Avebury — You are much missed here,
but by none so sincerely and sympathetically as myself,
feeling deeply as I do for you in your great sorrow.

This has been the most wonderful scientific gathering
conceivable, but to me in many respects a mournful
one.

Except Mr. Huxley, there has been no link in what
was the long chain of my active life (other than the
Darwin family) — a life in which you had so large a
share, and still so full a share of reminiscences. To
have seen you here would have gladdened me more
than I can express.

As it is, I am here under the strictest orders, and
only allowed peeps at the marvellous gatherings at the
Halls, Colleges, and Gardens.

To me the most interesting thing of all is the
Exhibition of Portraits, Books, Letters and Instruments,
and other objects in connection with the Darwin and
Wedgwood families.

It will probably be kept open after the " Celebration,"
and if so, and you could spare a few hours for a visit
to it, you would, I am sure, feel repaid. — Ever, dear
Avebury, your affectionate old friend,

J. D. Hooker.

An interesting note which was, by his per-
mission, shown among the Darwin manuscripts
at this Celebration is from Mr. Darwin, running :

Down, Farnborough,
Kent, Wednesday Eve.

My dear Waterhouse — Will you be so kind as to
take the trouble to send me a proper form for proposing

270 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK oh.

a member (eldest son of Sir J. Lubbock, who some day
will, I think, be a good and active Naturalist) for the
Entomological Soc.

The letter proceeds to other subjects. The
" Sir J. Lubbock " above is, of course, Lord
Avebury's father.

Early in May of this year he had paid a visit
to Avebury, of which he writes : " With Alice,
Ursula, Johnny, Norman, Eric, and Maurice to
Avebury. The ditch is a foot deeper than when
we were here last year. They have found two
deer-horn picks and some flakes — nothing of
metal."

His diary of July 9 has an entry worthy of
note : " Golf at Richmond," it begins, " with
Lord Halsbury, Lord Saltoun, and Harold."
Then, " Dined at ' the Club,' to celebrate the
Bicentenary of S. Johnson. Rosebery in the
Chair, both Archbishops and A. Balfour, Curzon,
Butcher, Lord H. Cecil, Sir A. Lyall, Sir D. M.
Wallace, Rathmore, Sir W. Anson, Carlisle, Sir
E. Poynter, Lord G. Hamilton, Welby, Sir C.
Bridge, etc." An interesting gathering and an
interesting occasion.

It has often been seen how great was the
popularity of those books of Lord Avebury, of
which The Pleasures of Life is perhaps the best-
known type, among the peoples of the East, and
perhaps it might not be easy to say how much
they have contributed, by the introduction of
Oriental readers to the highest thought of the
West, to a better understanding of the West by
the East. He notes as a singular fact that the
first application for leave to translate his latest

xL,i EFFORTS FOR FREE TRADE 271

book of this kind, Peace and Happiness, was from
a Gujerati translator. A little later his publishers
wrote to him :

St. Martin's Street, London, W.C,
24,th November 1909.

My Lord — We forward herewith an interleaved
copy of your book On Peace and Happiness which our
Indian correspondent, Mr. E. Marsden, about whom
we wrote to you, has gone through with a view to
preparing, as you kindly agreed that he should, an
edition of the book for use in High Schools and for
candidates for Matriculation at the Indian Universities.

Mr. Marsden has a great experience of the needs
and capacities of Indian boys, and we feel little doubt
that he has had good reason for the omissions which
he suggests. If you approve of what he has done
kindly return the copy, so that we may have the revised
book put into type. — We are, your Lordship's obedient
servants, Macmillan & Co., Ltd.

This chapter may be brought to a close with a
curious and appreciative letter from the editor
of a Japanese magazine.

The Right Hon. Lord Avebury,
High Elms, Famboro, R.S.O.,
Kent, England.

Tokyo, Japan,
March 25th, 1909.

Dear Sir — Your most cordial letter, together with
the valuable advice to the young people of our country,
and a fairly represented likeness of yourself, has been
received in good condition. And for these I beg leave
to do myself the justice to open the present letter with
a few words of my heartfelt thanks for your kindness.
Indeed, I do not know what words would be adequate
to express my gratitude for your sympathetic endeavour.
When I look again and again at your likeness while
reading your famous and suggestive works, I feel just
as if I were listening to your lecture before your presence.
Nothing has given me more pleasure than this. As
soon as I received your letter and written advice, I
published them in the latest number of our magazine.

272 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

which surely adorned the magazine very rich, and
glorified its pages as I expected.

It is more than this ; your writings, when they are
given out, it has created everlasting impressions to the
readers, and gave a great deal of inspirations to the
young minds in particular.

Who, what man, or in a more concrete sense, what
writer has ever given greater inspiration to, and valuable
hints to the use of life to our readers than you have
done so this time ? In fact, it is our pride as well as
of our readers to have published your discourse in your
honour through our magazine.

To-day, I have had the pleasure of sending your
excellency two copies of the same number by another
mail, and in which you will find your valuable article
printed, and your photo and personal letter reproduced
in photograph-printing.

When a man is given with a Photo from others and
not return thanks with that of himself is not good
manners, and therefore I herewith enclose a Photo of
myself, taken recently. And again, I enclose a few
pieces of picture post-card that represent the sceneries
of, and life of, this country. I hope your excellency
will please like them.

I also take great pleasure to tell you that when

to-day I have met with Mr. M , a friend of mine,

who is the translator of your valuable Use of Life
and have spoken of you and your contribution to our
magazine, he praised the latter to the skies. He also
tells me that his translated work has been in good sale
among the young men of Japan, and is now ready to
publish his re-translated MSS., because his former
version has been roughly rendered, so this time he has
done his best not to spoil the correct ideas and refined
style of the original.

From several sources, I have above mentioned, I
have become the earnest and faithful pupil of your
excellency, though I have not yet had the honour to
see your excellency, and I hope you will ever teach me ;
I shall never make myself to act against your instructions.

In fine, I have a favour to beg of you. It is that you
will please write me a short discourse under the subject,
" How can common sense be cultured in the best way ? "
there is good reason to ask you of this. Englishmen

xui EFFORTS FOR FREE TRADE 273

are most clever and delightful, and as a friend of man
they are the best in the world, I am sure. At the same
time they are full of common sense. This is the sort
of thing that we Japanese feel always envious. Our
young men, on the contrary, lack this branch of practical
wisdom to our regret, and often they make themselves
in the last the failure of life. In order to improve this
gross defect, I thought it necessary, nay, no better way
than listen to your valuable advice again, and thus has
led me boldly to ask your trouble.

If you have some pictures representing your mansion
and the Bank to which you are President, kindly send
them to me. The idea involved is that I hope thereby
to adorn our magazine with them to greater admira-
tion of your excellency by our readers. And again, if
you are in possession of some copies of newspapers or
magazines published in your country, and in which
contain your addresses or lectures delivered before
the public, aiming at the success, happiness, or character
building of young men, please favour me with their
sending. If you kindly allow this proposal, I shall
soon translate into Japanese and publish in our magazine
in your honour.

Of course, if I can get them in Japan, I shall buy
them, but it cannot.

If I have something to do for you within my power
in this Country to reciprocate your kindness, please let
me know. To do my best in the line of such kind of
work is my duty and delight.

Again thanking your excellency for your kindness
in anticipation, and hoping your excellency everlasting
health. — I am, dear Sir, your most humble pupil.

VOL. n

CHAPTER XLIII

A YEAR OF UNCERTAIN HEALTH (1910)

(Age 76)

The principal public interest in the eariy part of
the year was the General Election. Lord Ave-
bury had made a speech at Chislehurst in which
he spoke highly of the political opinions, char-
acter, and ability of the member for the Division,
Mr. H. W. Forster. Following these remarks
Mr. Forster wrote that some of the Free Trade
Unionists in the Constituency found a difficulty
in consenting to vote for him, and saying that
he thought a large number would change their
point of view if they knew that he had Lord
Avebury's support. In these circumstances he
asked Lord Avebury to write him a letter, which
he might circulate, expressing the sense of his
remarks in the Chislehurst speech. Lord Avebury
readily consented and wrote as requested. In the
event Mr. Forster was returned with a triumphant
majority of over four thousand.

A little more than a year after Lord Avebury's
death the ties between his family and the Forsters
were drawn closer by the marriage of his son
Harold to Dorothy, the eldest daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Forster.

274

UNCERTAIN HEALTH 275

One of Lord Avebury's points in his arguments
in favour of Free Trade is well given in the
following letter, which forms part of a short
correspondence with Mr. Douglas Murray :

Dear Mr. Douglas Murray — It is quite true, as
Mr. Ellis Barker says, that we imported last year
£147,700,000 of manufactured and semi-manufactured
articles, but, on the other hand, we exported £297,000,000.

He alleges that on the imports our workers lost
£100,000,000. Would he maintain that on our
£297,000,000 foreign workers lost ?

If not, why not ? On the other hand, if he does,
surely this shows the absurdity of his contention.

All Commerce is exchange. It cannot be carried
on unless both parties gain. If one loses, he will
not go on. Evidently, therefore, both the U.K. and
foreigners benefited by the Trade, and would suffer if
Mr. Barker's views were carried out.

Or look at it from another point of view. We import
from some country, say Belgium, £1,000,000 of manu-
factures, and pay for them by £1,000,000 of some other
manufactures. He alleges that by stopping our import
we should save, say, £100,000. But Belgium by stopping
our import to them would by the same reasoning save
£100,000 in the same way.

Thus by stopping the Commerce between them
England and Belgium would each gain £100,000. Is
not this an absurd contention ? — I am, yours very
truly, AvEBURY.

With the view of assisting the Free Trade
party in Canada he sent out a letter which was
published in several of the papers of the Dominion.
A correspondent writes to him, respecting it,
that " the phenomenon of an Englishman in a
prominent position telling a protected country
that it is making a mistake and actually daring
to be proud of England and of the triumph of her
Free Trade is something so new that it deserves
to be called revolutionary. If we can go on in

276 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK oh.

this way and pose as the attacking force, not even
£200,000,000 of taxation will upset Free Trade
in England, however much such a burden be
opposed to its fundamental conditions."

A letter from him, of this year, to Mr. Charles
Stewart, contains what Mr. Stewart very justly
writes of as " an admirably succinct statement
of the advantages of Proportional Representa-
tion." " Without Proportional Representation,"
Lord Avebury affirms, " a central party is, I
believe, impossible. A system of election such
as ours favours two extremes, and crushes out
moderate men and independent thinkers."

Mr. Stewart was a zealous collaborator in the
Free Trade cause, and he and Lord Avebury had
many points of view in common. In another
letter to Mr. Stewart Lord Avebury writes : "I
especially value your approval " (this was with
reference, I think, to his Free Trade speech at
Dundee, which the Cobden Club published) and
adds, " As to theology, are we not going as
quickly as is wise ? The change since you and I
were young is really astonishing, and I do not feel
myself properly equipped for definite theological
controversy."

They are words that may remind us of the
immense change which the passage of those
years had seen, and also express his character-
istically moderate attitude of mind towards that
change which he had in some degree helped to
bring about.

On January 11, Lady Avebury's birthday, they
had their usual dance for the children at High
Elms. Nevertheless the year opened for him

XLIII

UNCERTAIN HEALTH 277

with a heavy cloud upon it. For a considerable
while his sister Mary, Mrs. Birkbeck, of whom he
was very fond, had been most seriously ill, and
he continually expresses anxiety about her. It
was, however, in quite another quarter that the
first, most unexpected blow fell. On the 25th
he writes : " Received the grievous news of poor
Henry's death under an operation. We did not
know he was in any serious danger, or that any
operation was in contemplation, which makes
the blow all the heavier." On the following day
he notes his relief at hearing that the death
had been painless, occurring before return of
consciousness after the anaesthetic. He adds :
" He was always a good and affectionate brother
to me, and I shall miss him terribly."

Mrs. Birkbeck lingered on, with little hope of
restoration to health, through February, but on
the 27th he has again to make a painful entry :
" My poor sister Mary died this morning at 4.
Her end was quite peaceful and without suffering.
I shall miss her terribly. In the lonely years
after I left Eton she was my greatest com-
fort."

Lady Avebury, at the same time, was in
constant anxiety about her mother, Mrs. Pitt
Rivers, and was very frequently with her until
Mrs. Pitt Rivers' death on May 19. And in the
meanwhile the whole nation had been thrown
into mourning by Ejng Edward's death on the
6th of the same month.

Lord Avebury writes on the 6th : " To
Buckingham Palace to inquire after the King.
He died at 11.45. How great a loss ! " And the

278 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

following day : " British Museum meeting. Then
to an informal meeting of the Festival of Empire,
which wiU probably be postponed." (It was.)
" Then to the Privy Council. First signing.
Then the King came in and made an admirable
speech. Then we took the oath and kissed
hands. Then signed some things which required
three signatures." On the 17th he says, " To
the reception of the King's coffin in Westminster
Hall. Very impressive ceremony and beautiful
little service."

So far as his own private and also the national
mourning permitted, Lord Avebury maintained
his usual active part in public functions, speaking
in the House of Lords, attending the Chamber of
Commerce, the Anglo-German Friendship Com-
mittee, the British Empire League and many
more, generally in the chair, besides continuing
to give his breakfast parties, but towards the end
of May he had started a severe cough and all
through June was more or less ailing, though he
would not consent to be treated as an invalid.

On May 25 he writes : " Roosevelt wrote to
ask if I woTild come and see him, which I did.
He was very pleased and genial. We talked of
Big Game protective colouring " (the ex- President
had lately come from a big-game shooting tour
in Africa), " the importance of which he thought
greatly exaggerated — also of the Natural History
Museum, of his European tour, in which he
seemed to regret the endless ceremonials, of
Lecky's Map of Life, and of American millionaires
and trusts."

That same day he went to Kingsgate, and on

UNCERTAIN HEALTH 279

the 30th had "a round of golf at Sandwich
with Johnny and Harold."

Early in June he was at the dinner given to
Roosevelt by the Society for the Preservation of
the Fauna of the British Empire. He says that
" Roosevelt made an interesting speech and
enlarged on his view about protective colouring.
He praised our officials warmly."

On the 15th he was in the chair at a " Meeting
of the Anglo -German Friendship Committee,
which was well attended, Lamington, Brassey,
Sir F. Lascelles and Weardale spoke — all well
and shortly." And two days later, " Took the
chair at the annual meeting of the Society for
the Protection of Ancient Buildings. Prince F.
Duleep Singh read a good paper on old Norfolk
Houses. There was a large attendance."

The next day, a Saturday, they went to Cam-
bridge, to stay over the Sunday with the Master
of Trinity. But on the following Saturday, the
25th, his entry for the day ends laconically :
" Bad throat," and this bad throat was, no doubt,
the culmination of trouble which had been gather-
ing for a long while, and was the beginning of a
long period of ill -health, perhaps too bravely
combated. From time to time he regained such
vigour that he could play golf and resume most
of his avocations, but he was never really quite
his old self again, and seemed to lose weight. He
was at High Elms at this time and was laid up for
rather more than a fortnight. On July 12 he
writes : " Slowly improving. Went up to town,
but I have cancelled all my engagements." On
the 20th they motored down to Kingsgate.

280 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

In many ways he was an ideal patient : he
had so many resources that confinement to the
house was not nearly so irksome to him as to
most active men. His gratitude for any acts of
kindness, even the simplest, was most touching,
and man never had a more devoted nurse than
he in Lady Avebury. Another most faithful
and affectionate attendant deserves more than a
word of recognition, the old family servant,
whom no one ever called by any other name than
" Bessie." She had come to them first, from
Rushmore, as children's nurse ; and had been
with them some twenty-two years. She was far
more friend than servant. VHien all was well she
was (and is) the pivot about which the household
management turned, and in all accidents and
trouble, from a child's cut finger to the most
serious illness, it was to " Bessie " that applica-
tion was made, both as the first and the last
resort.

Maurice Lubbock, the youngest son, was at
Mr. Price's school at Broadstairs, only a mile or
two from Kingsgate. Occasionally Lord Ave-
bury would ask the whole school to the Castle,
where he would show them marvels through the
microscope, and talk to them in a way that
delighted them. " Isn't he jolly to us ? " one
of the boys said to Mr. Price as they went home
from one such entertainment. No doubt tea,
with good things to eat, made an important part
of it all, but they keenly enjoyed Lord Avebury 's
company and talk, and it was an enjoyment
which was quite mutual. Children always
amused him. One of the boys, after looking

xLiii UNCERTAIN HEALTH 281

through the microscope at many curious and
beautiful objects, said : "I tell you what, you
ought to look at an ant through the microscope
— it's awfully funny."

The narrator of this little incident said that
the twinkle of humour which was always lurking
in the corner of Lord Avebury's eye gleamed out
just a trifle more brightly at this recommendation
that he should study an ant. It was just like
him, and like his delicate consideration for the
feelings of other people, that he did not reply to
the boy that he had before this looked at a
magnified ant. All he said was " Ah, yes —
perhaps we will try that another time." It is
an answer which shows not only his kindness,
but also his quickness at appreciating another's
point of view. The more obvious answer might
have made the boy feel that his suggestion was
as foolish as it was thoughtless, but on the spur
of the moment it would not have occurred to all
of us that this would be its effect, and with the
least intention of doing so we might have hurt
the extreme sensitiveness of the boy. Lord
Avebury recognised the risk immediately and
went clear of it.

He was working again now at new editions
of Prehistoric Times and The Origin of Civilisa-
tion. The following letter to Mr. Sidney Hart-
land, on the interesting, if speculative, subject of
the estate of matrimony at the time when men
were learning to be somewhat different from the
apes, is due to this revision of his old books :

282 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

High Elms, Orpington,
Kent, 28</» June 1910.

Dear Mr. Hartland — I have just finished the second
vol. of your Primitive Paternity, and must read the first,
which somehow I had overlooked.

I am glad to see that you have arrived, apparently
quite independently (p. 95), at the conclusion which
I think I first suggested in my Origin of Civilisation
(1870, pp. 70-2) ; but does it not follow that some of
the customs, which we both refer to, are recognitions
of prior tribal rights ?

I had also been struck, as you have, by the many
cases of deferred marriage, and visits by stealth which
it seemed, and seems, to me are to be accounted for in
the same way.

The case of family groups as among apes does not
seem to me a case of " marriage," which you rightly
limit to relations " recognised by law or custom, and
entailing rights and duties." — I am, yours truly,

AVEBUEY.

To which Mr. Hartland replied :

HioHGARTH, Gloucester,
1st July 1910.

Dear Lord Avebury — I am much obliged for your
kind letter of the 28th June. I certainly think that
you long ago showed very strong reasons for holding
that the original condition of mankind was that of
promiscuity. Little value seems to me to be attached
to Westermarck's argument which so many anthropo-
logists have been inclined to accept. If man was
evolved from an anthropoid it must have been from one
that was gregarious. The higher apes of which he makes
so much have, owing to their solitary habits, got into
a side-track and so rendered further evolution impossible ;
and they have been surpassed in the race of life by man.

The gradual limit of promiscuity led ultimately to
individual marriage, and it seems clear that some of
the customs referred to are vestiges of prior rights of
the group. More than that, may we not say that the
mental attitude disclosed in the practices which form the
subject of my chapter on Marital Jealousy is a relic of
the state of Promiscuity ?

But I was anxious to avoid controversy which would

xuii UNCERTAIN HEALTH 283

have occupied much space and was not essential to
my thesis. Hence I confined myself to a single hint
on pp. 242-3, vol. ii.

Marriage of course cannot be predicated of apes
or any other non-human creatures, though their habits
sometimes present a remarkable analogy to marriage.
— I am, dear Lord Avebury, yours truly,

E. Sidney Hartland.

Rt. Hon. Lord Avebury.

Mr. Hartland is the author of several books
touching this subject, but his principal one is
the Primitive Paternity to which Lord Avebury
refers.

By August 12 he w^as actually so much better
as to play " a few holes with Northcliffe," Lord
Northcliffe was their neighbour at Kingsgate, and
the Kingsgate golf course, as has been said, was
quite near the Castle. On the 23rd he records
with pride : " Maurice and I beat Lord Halsbury
and Harold at golf." But probably these efforts
were greater than he should have made, for on
the following day he was unable to go to London
as he had intended. They went up, however, on
September 1, and the same day Harold went to
America, where he was to be for a while in a
business house in Boston.

For several weeks after this he was able to
resume the normal active course of his life. On
October 13, for instance, he writes : " Carried
unanimously in the Chamber of Commerce a
resolution calling on Government not to assent
to the annexation of Corea by Japan unless
Japan could agree not to increase the Corean
duties." On the 25th he had "golf at Rich-
mond, with Hubbard," and on the following day

284 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK «..

" took the Chair at a large meeting in the Cannon
Street Great Hall on British Empire Trade
Marks. They decided in favour after an interest-
ing discussion. Then took the Chair at an Old
Age Pensions meeting." The next day he had
one of his breakfast -parties, and two days
later " motored to Sunningdale to lunch with the
Hookers, dropping Alice at Eton on the way.
Eric flourishing. Found the Hookers very well.
He has a photograph of the greatest oak in the
world. It is in California, and is called ' the
Hooker oak.' ' Very appropriately,' said a neigh-
bour, ' as you planted it.' " The distinguished
botanist was of an advanced age, but perhaps
scarcely of such patriarchal years as to have
planted the greatest oak in the world.

The following day he writes : " Bad cold."
But still " saw Sir F. Lascelles about an
Anglo-German Conciliation Committee. Then to
London Chamber of Commerce to discuss the
Declaration of London."

Following that, however, which was on the
last day of October, comes the announcement on
November 1 : " Philpot " [the doctor] " sent me to
bed." However, he was soon up again — prob-
ably sooner than he should have been — and full
of engagements, but on the 19th the order was
more drastic : " to bed for a fortnight." This was
to give him the rest which he much needed, but
would not take, as much as on account of the
cold and cough which were heavy on him. After
this, until the end of the year, he went once to
the Bank, but attended no public function.

He was busy, however, from his room. Lord

UNCERTAIN HEALTH 285

Sanderson writes to him, in December, relative
to a reply which he addressed to the Times in
answer to an attack by Mr. Lloyd George on the
House of Lords, that a connection of his was so
much struck by the letter that he had asked
the House of Lords Defence League to have it
published and disseminated as a leaflet. This
was done, in the following form :

LORD AVEBURY ON THE SECOND
CHAMBER

(Reply to Mr. Lloyd George)

Mr. Lloyd George asserts that the Lords "are not
in touch with the realities of life." This assertion is
not only incorrect, but absurd, as the House of Lords
probably contains a larger number of practical business
men and experienced Statesmen than any other Second
Chamber in the world.

Lord Avebury — himself a member of the Upper
Chamber, and one of the best all-round men in the
country — has answered Mr. Lloyd George conclusively
in the following letter to the Times, November 29, 1910 :

" The question now before our countrymen is whether
we should, or should not, have a really effective Second
Chamber. The experience and opinion of the civilized
world — of the United States, of France, Germany,
Italy — is almost unanimous ; and our Government have
instituted Second Chambers in all our great self-govern-
ing Colonies. There are now about a dozen countries
with Single Chamber Government, including Costa Rica,
Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama,
St. Domingo, Salvador, Servia, and Turkey, all of which,
with one or perhaps two exceptions, are insolvent. We
have, moreover, ourselves already tried the Single
Chamber system and found it intolerable.

"A Question of Fact

" Mr. Lloyd George, however, takes a different view.
That is a matter of opinion, and in matters of opinion
a minority, however insignificant, may be right.

286 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

" But Mr. Lloyd George gives his reasons, and states
facts which can be brought to the test of experience.

" He attacks the House of Lords, because he says
that Peers . . . ' are not in touch with the reahties of life.*
• . . The earning of bread by the sweat of their brow
is unknown to them. . . . They know nothing of the
responsibility and the anxiety of conducting a business,
great or small. They know nothing of the daily worries
of the trader's existence — the care and thought spent,
the knowledge and the experience gathered in a million
ways in earning a living.

" These statements, even if true, have nothing to
do with the issue now before the country, since the
House of Lords has intimated its readiness to consider
any wise, even if drastic, proposals for reconstruction.

" Great Business Men

" But are Mr. Lloyd George's statements true ?
Has he correctly stated the facts ? Certainly not.
The present House of Lords comprises the heads of
the Church and the Law ; of the Army and Navy, and
of those who have fulfilled the following offices :

Cabinet Minister or Head of a Government

Department ...... 94

Lord-Lieutenant, Viceroy or Governor-General . 20

High Commissioner or Governor of a Colony . 24

Privy Councillor . . . . , . 112

and others who have held offices of great importance
and responsibility. Coming to men of business, the
House of Lords numbers among its members four
Presidents or ex-Presidents of the Associated Chambers
of Commerce, three of the London Chamber of Com-
merce, the Chairman of the London Bankers, the Chair-
man of the Country Bankers, the President of the
Association of English Bankers, the Chairmen of several
of our great railway companies, of the London and
North-Western, the Great Western Railway, the Great
Northern, etc., the heads of our greatest shipping and
shipbuilding companies — Messrs. Harland & Wolff's,
Cunard's, Furness, Wilson, etc. ; amongst banks and
financial houses, the heads of the London County and
Westminster, of the London Joint-Stock, of Rothschilds,
Barings, Glyns, Robarts, Gibbs, Hubbards, etc.

UNCERTAIN HEALTH 287

" Mr. Lloyd George's Ignorance
" This list might be much extended, and as I cannot
suppose that Mr. Lloyd George would deliberately
state what he knew to be untrue, I can only conclude
that he really knows nothing about the House of Lords,
and that he himself, as he incorrectly alleges of them,
' is not in touch with the realities of life.' The members
of the House of Lords, in fact, so far from being, as Mr.
Lloyd George seems to imagine, a number of useless
and inexperienced idlers, are in reality a body of very
hard workers, and men of immense experience.

" (Signed) Avebury."

At the end of November he received, from
Dr. Rene Worms, a letter informing' him of his
election as Correspondent of the Institute of
France.

115 Boulevard Saint-Germain,
Lundi, 28 novembre 1910.

Cher et HoNORi; President — ^Je vous ai telegraphic
pour vous annoncer votre Election. Voici maintenant
quelques details.

Pour le nouveau "poste de correspondent vacant, la
section de Zoologie presentait : —

en 1*'= ligne, vous-meme ;

en 2'^""= ligne le professeur J. Loeb, de New York,

physiologiste ;
en 3'^">'^ ligne, ex aequo, les professeurs :

O. Hertwig, de Berlin ) , . . , . .

R. Hertwii, de Munich | h^^^ologistcs.

von Thering, actuellement a Sao Paulo (Bresil).

L'filection, par 1' Academic des Sciences tout enti^re,
a cu lieu cet apr^s-midi. II y avait 40 votants. Vous
avez eu 28 suffrages. Vos concurrents s'en sont partag^
12. Comme vous aviez la majority absolue vous avez
ete immediatement proclame elu.

Mon p^re et moi sommes particuli^rement charm^s
de ce beau succ^s, bien du a vos grands travaux
scientifiques, et qui cv6e un lieu nouveau entre vous et
notre patrie.

Vous pourrez envoyer un mot personnel a mon ancien

288 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

maitre, le Dr. E. L. Bouvier, professeur d'entomologie
au Museum d'histoire naturelle, qui a fait en d'excellents
termes le rapport a I'Academie sur vos travaux, au nom
de la section de Zoologie, dont il est membre. II
suffira de I'adresser au Mus6um (Paris), ou il a son
laboratoire.

Je vous renouvelle avec une veritable joie mes
felicitations, qui s'adressent aussi k Lady Avebury et
k vos enfants. Et je vous prie d'agr^er, cher et honor6
President, I'assurance de mon entier devouement.

Rene Worms.

Prince Roland Bonaparte telegraphed to
him : " Toutes mes felicitations et mes meilleurs
souvenirs"; and he had many other congratu-
lations.

An interesting application was made to him in
the same month by the Aga Khan, Ameer Ali, and
others on behalf of the Mussulmans in London,
that he should give his name to a Committee
formed for the purpose of obtaining for them
a place of worship in London, "of which the
want is keenly felt by all classes of His Majesty's
subjects who are flocking to England in ever-
increasing numbers from all parts of the King's
dominions."

Reference has been made above to his going
on the last day of October, probably with some
injury to his health, to the Chamber of Commerce
to discuss the Declaration of London. He did
not see eye to eye with the majority of the
Chamber on this subject, especially on the point
of the immunity. Finally he addressed the follow-
ing Memorandum to the Council :

xLiii UNCERTAIN HEALTH 289

Private and Confidential.

Oxford Coukt, Cannon Street,

London, E.C,

12ih November 1910.

THE DECLARATION OF LONDON

(Memorandum by the Right Hon. Lord Avebury)

As other members of the Declaration of London
Committee have sent round their views, and as I am
unfortunately unable to attend on Monday, and do not
concur with the conclusions, I think I may be allowed
also to bring some considerations before the Council.

1. Some years ago the Council did me the honour of
requesting me to bring the Declaration of Paris before
the House of Commons, with the view of making private
property at sea free of capture or seizure. I asked to
be allowed to consult Lord Salisbury, who was then
Prime Minister.

He told me that he quite agreed with the Council ;
that if I brought forward a motion in the House of
Commons the Government would support it, and that
we should be " pushing at an open door." But he
feared that France would oppose, and he suggested that
I should see our Ambassador at Paris, which I did.
He agreed with Lord Salisbury.^ The French Govern-
ment, he said, regarded such an arrangement as clearly
a great advantage to us and would certainly oppose.
Under these circumstances nothing was done.

At the late Hague Conference, the subject came up for
discussion. The proposal to make private property at
sea free of capture and seizure met with general support,
but, to my great astonishment and regret, was opposed
by our Government.

The Admiralty apparently consider that our Fleet
is so strong we should lose by the change. They forget
that while our Fleet is the strongest, on the other hand
our mercantile marine and our property at sea is
enormously greater than that of most other countries.
We stand to lose in fact " Lombard Street to a China
orange." In round figures half the ships on the ocean
fly the British flag, and if we deduct those of Norway,
Sweden, Holland and other countries, with which we
should all agree that war is out of the question, it is

' Vide Letter of Lord Lytton, supra, vol. i. p. 275.
VOL. II U

290 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK oh.

clear that we have much to lose and little or nothing
to gain by maintaining the right to destroy enemy's
private property at sea.

In the Crimean War our Fleet went to the Baltic,
and destroyed some Russian produce. It was Russian
produce in the sense of having been produced in Russia.
But whose property was it ? It belonged to English
merchants, and was insured in English offices. Take
again the depredations of the Alabama. Great Britain
paid eventually £3,000,000 for the damage done to
" American shipping," that is to say, shipping under
the American flag.

But this very shipping was much of it insured in
English companies. That of which I was Chairman
had to pay many thousands of pounds, and then we
were taxed to pay the American Government for the
injury done to our own property. If we found ourselves
unfortunately at war, the shipping of our enemy would
probably not venture to sea. But the loss to them
would be trifling. Ours no doubt would still go on,
but there would be a war premium on goods shipped
in English bottoms. The rate might no doubt be small,
but a very small extra rate of insurance would tend to
drive merchandise from British vessels and under neutral
flags.

I submit then that as we now stand we can inflict
no serious injury on an opponent by maintaining the
right of seizing private property at sea, and that an
alteration of the law would be better for all, but especially
for us.

2. I now come to the vital question of our food
supplies. Four-fifths come from foreign countries, and
I am convinced that neither the United States nor
Russia nor any other country from which we derive
our supplies, would suffer their commerce to be interfered
with.

We can hardly suppose that we shall lose control of
the Channel, but as long as goods can pass from Calais
or Ostend to Dover, we may depend that London will
not starve as long as there is food in Paris or Berlin.

At any rate, the fact that the bulk of our food supply
comes over the sea is a main reason which makes it so
important for us that private property should be free
of capture and seizure at sea.

UNCERTAIN HEALTH 291

3. Lastly, I come to the question of blockade. The
development of railways makes this a matter of com-
paratively little importance to Continental Nations.
In the Crimean War we blockaded the Russian Baltic
Ports. The only result was that Russian goods came
through Prussia, and we had to pay the extra cost of
carriage.

I do not I confess think that there is much danger of
our ports being blockaded. That any foreign country
could blockade London and Southampton, Plymouth,
Bristol, Liverpool, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Hull does
not seem to me to be within the range of practical
politics. Still an arrangement which increases the
difficulty of blockade seems to me to be, as far as
it goes, in our favour.

Under these circumstances and without committing
myself to every word in the Declaration of London, I
hope the London Chamber of Commerce will give the
great weight of its support to what is, I believe, as far
as it goes, a step in the right direction and a distinct
advantage to our commerce.

With reference to the above, Mr. Leverton
Harris writes to him :

70 Grosvenor Street, W.,
lith November.

Dear Lord Avebury — I have been very much
interested in the Declaration of London, and that is my
excuse for troubling you. I have read most carefully
your Memo, to the London C. of Commerce. With
every word almost I agree except the last Paragraph.
In Parliament and out I have advocated Immunity of
capture for private property at sea, and I was equally
disappointed with you at our throwing over this doctrine.
But my main reason for objecting to the Declaration of
London has been that it appears to me to be based on
exactly opposite principles to those which you and I
support.

Instead of freeing our ocean trade from capture, it
increases the risks.

1. It legalizes the sinking of neutral prizes.

2. It makes neutral vessels coming to our peaceful
ports with food for the civil population liable to be
captured and destroyed.

292 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK oh.xuh

3. It does nothing to prevent the conversion of
merchant vessels into commerce destroyers on the high
seas.

4. When we are neutrals it permits our shipping to
be sunk and creates much uncertainty.

For instance, if I ship flour or rails or fuel to a belli-
gerent port, who is to say whether that port is to be
considered a base of supply ? If it is so considered my
vessel (a neutral) may be captured and sunk. How
can I fix my freight or my insurance premium under
these conditions ?

I am a shipowner and underwriter and I have studied
the Declaration carefully — I gave evidence before the
Food Supply Committee of National Guarantee of War
Risks, and my honest conviction is that the Declaration
intensely aggravates the evils which both you and I de-
plore. Please forgive me for troubling you, and believe
me, yours faithfully, F. Leverton Harris.

A copy of the Memorandum was sent by Lord
Avebury to Sir Edward Grey, who repUed that he
was glad to see that the conclusions arrived at by
the Chamber had not Lord Avebury's support,
and stating that the Chamber's objections to the
Declaration were really based on a misapprehen-
sion of the International Law touching the point —
misapprehension which he hoped would shortly
be removed by a forthcoming Blue-book. Lord
Avebury had emphasised the fact, in his state-
ment to the Chamber, that so long as we kept
command of the Channel our food supplies were
secure ; and Sir Edward says that he was glad to
see emphasis thus directed to a fact that was
very frequently lost sight of.

CHAPTER XLIV

BEGINNING OF HIS LAST ILLNESS (1911)

(Age 77)

It was in July of this year that Lord Avebury
sat to Sir Hubert von Herkomer for that admir-
able portrait of which a reproduction forms the
frontispiece of this volume. It shows him very
much as he had been for the last thirty years —
spare and active of figure, bright and youthful
in complexion, with a look of sagacity and at the
same time of the greatest kindliness in his eyes.
When this picture was exhibited in the Academy
one of the family was greatly amused, standing
behind some unknown young lady who was
looking at it, to hear her exclaim to her com-
panion in the vernacular of the day, " Oh, isn't
he a darling ? " with immense emphasis on the
word of affection. Her appreciation was really
not amiss, and is justified by the characteristic-
ally gentle expression in the eyes, which the
painter has given well.

It was the moment for the portrait. On and
off, from June 27 to July 13, he was sitting for it,
noting that the painter made the sittings very
pleasant ; and at the end of the month he became

293

294 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

very seriously ill. But all the first part of that
year he was in tolerable health and very busy.
They had a dance in the house at High Elms for
the young people as usual, on the 11th, Lady
Avebury's birthday, and on the same day he had
been to London for a meeting of the Costa Rica
bondholders. Indeed, the later years of this
long and busy life were by no means the least
cheerful and peaceful. As one who knew him
intimately writes : "It was a great pleasure to
his friends to see how happy and serene were the
closing years of one whose sensitive nature must
often have suffered deep pain in the harsh things
of life." It was a pain wonderfully concealed
by the habit of self-control in which he had
educated himself, but it was always a keenly sensi-
tive nature which underlay that outward serenity.
The Anglo -German Friendship Committee,
which developed during the year into a wider
" Association," continued to take up a good deal
of his time. He was in the Chair on January 18
at a meeting of the Committee when it was
resolved that they should merge in the larger
body. On March 20 he interviewed the Lord
Mayor respecting an inaugural meeting of the
Association at the Mansion House in May. On
the 26th he saw Sir F. Lascelles, and on April 2
the Duke of Argyll, on business connected with
the forthcoming meeting. As a matter of fact a
small inaugural meeting, previously to that at
the Mansion House, was held, rather contrary to
his wishes, on April 5. The big meeting was held
in the Egyptian Hall at the Mansion House on
May 1.

xLiv BEGINNING OF LAST ILLNESS 295

On January 20 there is an entry in his diary :
" I have been working at my answers to criticisms
on Prehistoric Times and the History of Civilisa-
tion.'''' A letter on the subject of primitive
marriage, which was one of the vexed questions
that this criticism raised, has been quoted in
the previous chapter. Under the same date he
notices a book which he shortly afterwards
published with the title of Marriage, Totemism
and Religion. In one entry in the journal it is
referred to as " Marriage, Exogamy and Religion,"
as if this title, indicating the attention given in
its pages to the question of marriage outside the
tribe, had been contemplated for it ; but eventu-
ally it came out under the former heading.

He had given up his work on " pollen," which
has been spoken of once or twice, and of all his
studies of the kind this was the one from which he
deemed that he had least result. He contributed
a paper, dealing chiefly with the shapes of different
pollen, to the Microscopical Society, and I well
remember his telling me that some of the pollen
globes which were discharged to fly in the air
were roughened on the surface, and he wondered
whether this roughening had a like effect to the
nicking of the surface of a golf ball, and helped it
to fly farther ; for it is well known that a smooth-
faced golf ball will fly hardly at all. His son
Eric, as already noticed, was his chief helper in
this study, and he used, when his father was ill,
to take him about the long terraces at High Elms
and the grass rides through the woods, in a Bath-
chair, talking to him all the time and speculating
about Nature.

296 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

In the beginning of February they went to
London from Kingsgate. On the 6th he attended
the opening of Parhament. He began his break-
fast parties again, and went out to dinners, and
gave dinner parties at his own house. On the
15th he was at a Free Trade meeting, on the 23rd
at the Council of Foreign Bondholders, and so on.
These and the hke engagements made frequent
calls on his time and attention throughout the
first half of the year. At the Chamber of Com-
merce meeting on March 14 he notes that " they
voted against the Declaration of London." The
following day he was at the meeting about the
British Empire Trade Mark, of which he writes
that " it was to have been at the Council Chamber,
but so many apphed for tickets that it was
decided to hold it in the Guildhall, which was
about half- full." With regard to the Declara-
tion of London and the Chamber of Commerce he
states with satisfaction, on April 20 : " Moved a
resolution of the Council of the London Chamber
of Commerce in favour of making private property
at sea free of capture and seizure, and to my
surprise carried it unanimously." It was a point
at which he had been aiming for a long while.

During May and June he was attending
meetings of the British Empire League, of the
Festival of Empire, of the Selborne Society, and
so on, as well as many social functions, includ-
ing taking Lady Avebury to a Court. He was
present at the opening of the Festival of Empire,
which he describes as " a long day, but everything
very well arranged. We got our seats quite
easily and the Concert was very good." Then

xLiy BEGINNING OF LAST ILLNESS 297

to the Dominions Club, where they had tea with
the Duke of Argyll and Princess Louise. " At
six the King and Queen came and were very nice.
She thanked me for my books." Towards the
end of the month he notes that he had interesting
talks with Sir Wilfrid Laurier and with General
Botha, who were in England.

All this while the House of Lords was in much
anxiety about its very existence and in more than
two minds as to the manner in which, if at all,
that existence, in any practical legislative sense,
was to be prolonged. He attended a " Meeting
of Opposition Peers at Lord Curzon's to consider
Lansdowne's House of Lords Bill. I said a few
words. At the House of Lords afterwards Lans-
downe brought in his Bill." This was on May 8.
Almost the last of his public acts for a period of
many weeks was towards the end of July, when
he writes : " Thursday 20th. Wound up the
debate on the Parliament Bill in the House of
Lords. We did not divide " ; and " Friday 21st.
Large meeting at Lansdowne House. Asquith's
letter to Balfour was read announcing that the
King has consented to make enough Peers to
swamp the House of Lords. Halsbury, Selborne,
Sahsbury, Northumberland, Norfolk, Somerset
and others for dying in the last ditch, but Lans-
downe and, I think, the majority considered that
as the Bill must pass it was no use to let them
also make a Radical House of Lords."

Proportional Representation at which he had
long worked so hard was occupying him still, and
he was at a meeting in its favour on June 16. A
few days later he was at Sunningdale, lunching

298 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

with his very old and dear friend Sir J. Hooker,
of whom he writes : " Found him very well, but
he will be 93 in a few days. I fear it may be the
last meeting of the X Club." The foreboding
was only too soon realised. The great botanist
died in December of this year — " a wonderful
man and most kind friend, the last of our little
group, " as Lord Avebury records pathetically.

On July 15 is a brief entry, most unlike his
usual optimism, in Lord Avebury's diary : " Very
tired." Nevertheless he continued to fulfil his
engagements for a week longer, until on July 23
he had an attack of something like ptomaine
poisoning.

By the 27th he had recovered sufficiently to
be able to go by motor to Kingsgate, arriving, as
he admits again, " very tired." On the same day
Maurice came home from Mr. Price's private
school at Broadstairs " with good reports," and
a day or two later came Eric too, from Eton.
Their cheery company helped Lord Avebury a
great deal in bearing his illness. He managed
to get to London for the day twice during the
month, on business of importance, and they had
a succession of visitors at the Castle. But he
confesses that it was rather too much for him;
and in the beginning of September his heart was
found to be weak and his pulse intermitting, and
he was kept very quiet for a time, during which
he worked at a review on " Inter-racial Problems "
for the Fortnightly. He was well enough to return
to High Elms on the 15th.

He was there when he received the following
telegram from the New York American :

xLiv BEGINNING OF LAST ILLNESS 299

Lord Avebury,

High Elms, Down, Kent.

Mr. William Randolph Hearst, proprietor New York
American, maintains in letter to weekly budget that
proposed reciprocity treaty between United States and
Canada is first important step ever taken to bring
about better understanding between English-speaking
Nations and advance civilization. Hearst also says,
if United States Markets were offered to England she
would not refuse them, and why should Canada be
advised to refuse ? Would appreciate your Lordship's
views either for or against.

He replied :

High Elms,
23rd Sept. 1911.

Sir — I do not think it can be correctly maintained
that the Reciprocity Treaty between the U.S. and
Canada would be the " first important step taken to
bring about a better understanding between English-
speaking Nations."

At present England admits American products free,
or in the few cases where there are import duties imposes
corresponding excise duties on our own manufacturers.
The United States, on the contrary, impose on an average
over 70 per cent duties on our produce. So again
while the U.S. prevent any British ship carrying goods
from one U.S. port to another, we impose no such
vexatious restrictions on the U.S. Shipping. Thus
while we do all in our power to promote, the U.S. do
all they can to hamper and restrict, Commerce. This
is much to be regretted, but the result is not so injurious
to us as might be supposed, because the tendency is to
shut U.S. goods out of neutral markets ; so that most
of what we lose in the U.S., we gain in the rest of the
world.

If the U.S. adopted Free Trade it would be some
advantage to us, but an enormous benefit to the U.S.
Protection enriches the few at the expense of the many,
and speaking generally the rich at the expense of the
poor.

Canada apparently considers that the Reciprocity
Treaty would not have benefited her. It seemed to
me that it was a small stage in the direction of Free

300 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

Trade. If it were so I believe it would have been an
advantage to both countries, but on that I express no
opinion.

During October he made a considerable re-
covery, w^ent several times to the City and en-
tertained guests at High Elms. Amongst them
vsras his old friend Lord Courtney, who told a
story of John Burns taking an American and a
Canadian to the terrace of the House of Commons.
They spoke contemptuously of the Thames as
compared with the Mississippi and the St.
Lawrence. " You're wrong," Burns said. " The
Mississippi's a great mass of dirty water, and the
St. Lawrence is a great mass of clean water, but
the Thames is liquid history ! "

Another guest at High Elms this month was
M. Boustany, who had translated some of his
books into Arabic. He told Lord Avebury that
The Pleasures of Life was the first book ever
published in the Soudan. He printed three
thousand copies in Arabic of The Use of Life, and
was at that time preparing a second edition.

It is rather interesting to speculate how the
Arabic translator contrived to curb his vivacious
Oriental Pegasus, with his high-flying metaphors,
down to the placid measure in which Lord
Avebury writes. The followmg is a specimen of
this translator's letters and of the magnificent
idiom into which, presumably, he had to recon-
struct the English prose :

Dear Sir — My globe has been rotating and revolving
for several months since the splendid visitor of our
firmament " showed up " as a rainbow in disguise,
bearing the immortal name of a mortal being — I refer
to the " Song of May." It is a fact, My Lord, that I

xuv BEGINNING OF LAST ILLNESS 301

am too late to reply to your Lordship's P.S. in her last
letter to the humble — Wadih ; but even now it is
perhaps still too early for the gardener =Boustany, to
shake the most tender branch of his life.

May it not be " too much asking " to please cast away
a fraction of an hour by casting a glance on the " Prodigal
Son," considering at the same time that it has taken me
above four months of solitary meditation and contem-
plation. Though only four hours of a night to write it,
and once written, again a considerable number of days
of hesitation to depart with it as a " picture of me "
destined to fall under the sight of Lord Avebury.

Dear sir, it is a critical moment — but my beats and
throbs are as regular as ever. "To be or not to be,
this is the question " : Whether I should stick to my
present post of £10 per 1 moon's revolution, and continue
to live on the figures (only ten in shape) I add and
register — and die when Death knocks ... or bid this
routine together with colleagues, friends and relatives
farewell, and entrust myself to the sea, with the sole
hope of one day ashoring on the British Isles, with the
twofold ambition of shaking hands with the author of
The Use of Life and On Peace and Happiness, and of
challenging that day's circumstances, thus : — come
what may ; here have I come ; Oxford is my goal ;
a foul or a fall ; a failer or a fool ; I want to know more
and become more. I may be hung ; I may be stabbed ;
I may be smashed and ground to earth ; but starvation
can never be a cause to my death. . . . For Work is
Nature's kind tiger, and no cruel Humanity can dare
mutilate its arm. . . . ?

My Lord ! This is the question whose answer alone
could stand in the way of this letter in which I beg to
inform you that the book will be out of press in the
course of the next twenty days, in the second place that
my readers will be only too anxious to contemplate the
portrait of their author of Peace and Happiness ; and
in the third place, that it is to be dedicated to an English
" gentleman," under whom I am practising my " routine."
But may it be the main object of this letter and its
" appendages " to clear out My Lord's " not quite sure
that I am addressing you by the right style, if not
please excuse it and tell me how I should do so next
time when you write." My dear lord pray do not

302 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

regret that you have been honouring and rendering
" useful," " peaceful," and " happiness-full " a poor
creature known as — Your faithful servant,

Lord Avebury w^rote a letter to the Times this
month protesting against the Itahan expedition
against Tripoh, and received from the " Groupe
Parhamentaire Ottomane " a telegram conveying
their gratitude for " I'esprit juste et humanitaire
que vous avez manifeste par votre lettre."

While laid up during the later months of the
year he also vvTote a review of the Duke of Devon-
shire's life, from the Free Trade point of view,
and an article on Free Trade in the Nineteenth
Century.

Towards the end of November Lord Avebury
was again kept to his bed. The doctors tested a
sample of his blood and it was found to be lacking
in the red corpuscles. They seem to have been
a little puzzled as to the name by which to label
his illness, for continuously ill more or less,
unquestionably he was. I was shocked by his
wasted aspect, when I saw him for the first time
for several months. No doubt he felt himself
to be gravely ill. I see interpolated, at a later
date than the original entry, " my last game of
golf," in the diary for September 2, and I am
afraid this meant that, looking over his journal
at the end of the year, he had made up his mind
that his last game had been played. Neverthe-
less, I had the pleasure of playing vdth him in a
foursome, at Kingsgate, many months later, and
he completed nine holes without much fatigue.
It was, however, little more than a brief respite.

xuv BEGINNING OF LAST ILLNESS 303

before the end. The doctors eventually agreed
that his illness was a well-known and very serious
form of anaemia.

He got gradually better during the last month
of 1911, and his final entry for the year is satisfac-
tory, if brief enough: "Saturday 31st. Better."

The following is his own short summary of
what he apparently regarded as the most import-
ant events of this year.

Published Marriage, Totemism and Religion.

New editions of Use of Life, Scenery of England, and
Pleasures of Life.

March 21st. Took the Chair at the dinner of the
City of London Free Trade Association.

May 1st. Spoke at Anglo-German Friendship Meet-
ing at Mansion House. Much larger than we had
expected.

June 22nd. Coronation. Very long ceremony.

June 27th. Herkomer began painting my picture
for the Phoenix.

July 3rd. Carried an amendment limiting life of
House of Commons to 5 years. This was the only
substantial amendment to which the House of Commons
agreed.

July 20th. Wound up the debate on the Parliament
Bill in the House of Lords.

23rd. Seized with an attack of ptomaine poisoning,
which left me an invalid for the rest of this year.

August 31st. Wrote an article for Fortnightly on
Inter-racial Problems, and in Nineteenth Century on
Duke of Devonshire and Free Trade — also an introduc-
tion to Hutchinson's book on Nature.

December 10th. Hooker died. A wonderful man
and a most kind friend. The last of our little group.

There is some little significance, in addition
to their pathos, about these final words. It is
likely that when Lord Avebury wrote them he
had in mind his fellows of the " X Club," such
as Professors Huxley and Tyndall, Mr. Herbert

304 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch. xliv

Spencer, Sir J. Hooker, Professor Busk, and so
on, but it is possible too that they bore a wider
meaning. They indicate a truth of which even
Lord Avebury himself was perhaps not quite
fully conscious — yet a truth of which we find
sufficient evidence — ^that in spite of his faculty
for friendship, which was very considerable, and
in spite of the great variety of acquaintance
which his many-sided life brought to him, the
men of science, those with whom he had worked
in the fellowship of the earlier and more im-
pressionable years, were those whom he regarded
as his real life companions. It was to them, to
their " little group " that, in his heart, he felt
himself to belong.

CHAPTER XLV

TEMPORARY RECOVERY (1912)

(Age 78)

After the turn of the year Lord Avebury was
rather better. He writes that he came down to
breakfast for the first time on January 4. On the
24th he was able to go to the Bank, but early
in February he was again laid up, and passed
several days in bed. By the 10th he was suffi-
ciently recovered to attend a meeting at the
British Museum, and on the 28th they had a
dinner party.

The constant anxiety of Lord Avebury's
illness was telling on Lady Avebury at this time,
as was not unnatural. She was never away from
him, and from day to day never knew how he
might be. His diary notes that she was too
unwell to appear at this dinner party, and that
his daughter, Mrs. Adrian Grant Duff, did hostess
for her. Lord Avebury admits that he found it
" rather an effort."

In March he saw the Lord Mayor several
times about a scheme he had in hand for supply-
ing the poor in cities with cheap coal in winter,
but all these activities were paid for by an

VOL. II 305 X

306 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

increased feeling of weariness afterwards. It is
scarcely needful to say that he was a most serene
and resigned patient. No word of protest was ever
heard from him. He took a considerable interest
in his own case, as a scientific study, and writes :
" We are supposed to have 3J litres of blood, i.e.
3,500,000 cubic centimetres : each cubic centi-
metre contains 5,000,000 corpuscles : one ought
to have 3,500,000 x 5,000,000 = 17,500,000,000,000,
so that I have 8,800,000,000,000 too few ! No
wonder I am ill." This terrific computation
he makes after the doctors had told him that
he had only half as many of the red corpuscles
as he should. So he continued, performing
such duties, social, political, and other as he
was able, and resigning himself tranquilly to
the sick-room in the intervals with a heroism
which is rather pathetic. It was thus with him
until June, when they went to High Elms, and
he is able to write : " Sunday 9th. We have had
a pleasant and peaceful time, and I am ever so
much better. I wrote to the Times on ' Strikes,'
and the letter has been reproduced in a good
many country newspapers." The next day
they went up to London; on the Tuesday he
dined out, "the first time for some months," and
on the day after " To Chambers of Empire
meeting. Coming in late, I was much gratified
at receiving quite a small ovation by clapping
of hands. In the afternoon to Buckingham
Palace : the King and Queen were very gracious,
congratulated me on being better, and begged
Alice to take care of me and not let me do too
much."

TEMPORARY RECOVERY 307

About a week later he " had slight set-back,"
and no doubt Lady Avebury was very glad to
get him down to Kingsgate, on the 20th, away
from the many calls, to which he would always,
if it were possible, respond, that were made on
him in London.

During July and August they had a succession
of visitors, chiefly from Friday or Saturday till
Monday. I see by his diary that I went there
on the last day of August, and it must have been
at this time that he played nine holes of golf, in
a foursome, as mentioned in the previous chapter.
I believe that this really was the last game he
ever played.

They were at High Elms in September, where
also they had guests from time to time, among
them his sister Harriet, home from Canada.
" She was as bright and cheery as ever," he writes.
" She seems to like Canada." He finished in
this month his paper on " Pollen " for the Royal
Microscopical Society's Journal, and an article
on the Declaration of Paris for the Nineteenth
Century. At the beginning of October they were
back in London, and he was resuming his duties,
his breakfast parties, his attendance at the House
of Lords, and so on, almost as in past years.

Yet, all the while, the pernicious anaemia
was upon him and, no doubt, strengthening its
hold, though with occasional relaxings. Lady
Avebury writes to me about the whole course of
his illness. " In that summer " (1910) " he got
a fearful cough, which was the real beginning of
everything. Then the following summer he had
that sudden attack of ptomaine poisoning in the

308 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

dead of night, and twice he fainted. Harold and
I were up with him all night. . . . The last
meeting he went to (on Free Trade, I think) at
the Cannon Street Hotel, I took him to with
trembling and fear ; but he spoke beautifully,
firmly, and was quite audible at the end of the
enormous hall. He never looked once at his
notes. He looked so frail, I shall never forget
my agony nor my joy when it was over and I got
him safely away. The last speech he ever made
was in this house " (48 Grosvenor Street), " when
they came with an illuminated address from the
British- German business. The Duke of Argyll
read it out. I remember he stood with little
Henry Pelham and Jean Grant Duff " (grand-
children), " holding their hands, and they took a
flash-light photograph of the three, and Henry
burst into tears because of the flash and noise."

For the moment, however, and during the
latter months of 1912, he was able to lead some-
thing not unlike his ordinary greatly occupied
life. On October 10 he had a breakfast party,
and in the afternoon, at the Chamber of Com-
merce, "proposed my resolution on making private
property at sea free of capture and seizure. There
was a feeling for a special committee, to which
I agreed. They are to report by the middle of
December."

The following account was drawn up of the
resolution, and of a previous meeting on the
same subject :

TEMPORARY RECOVERY 309

THE LONDON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

(Incorporated)

Private Property at Sea

Lord Avebury has given notice that he will move
the following resolution at the meeting of the Council
on Thursday, October 10, 1912, at 2.30 p.m., viz. :

" That having regard to the increasing dependence
of finance, trade, and industry upon international
peace and goodwill, this Council re-affirms its
resolution of April 20, 1911, viz. :

•' * That in the opinion of this Chamber private
property at sea should be declared free
from capture and seizure.'

" That a resolution to this effect be submitted by
the London Chamber to the next meeting of the
Associated Chambers of Commerce of the United
Kingdom."

For the information of Members of the Council, Lord
Avebury has furnished the following Memorandum on
the proceedings at the meeting above referred to :

" At the meeting of the Council of the London
Chamber of Commerce on April 20, 1911, the Right
Hon. Lord Avebury (ex-President) drew attention
to the question of the capture of private property
at sea and the need for international agreement
thereon, and moved —

" ' That in the opinion of this Chamber private
property at sea should be declared free of
capture and seizure.' "

He did so, he said, with a feeling of great responsi-
bility, as he believed that the question was one of vital
importance to our trade and commerce.

Lord Salisbury was strongly in favour of making
private property at sea free of capture and seizure, and
Lord Loreburn was of the same opinion. The Admiralty,
it was true, had, he believed, hitherto opposed the
proposal on the ground that we had the strongest Navy,
and should, therefore, be giving up a powerful weapon.
No doubt we had the strongest Fleet, but on the other
hand our property at sea was far and away the greatest.

310 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

nor could we attack foreign countries without damaging
our own property. Our Navy exceeded that of any
two Powers, but our mercantile marine exceeded that
of all the other European Powers put together. Take
two typical countries — Germany and Spain. He was
not one of those who believed in a war with Germany.
Our main interests and those of Germany were identical.
He knew, and he was sure that Germans knew, that the
day war was declared would be a black day for both.
He only took Germany as an illustration. Our mercan-
tile marine was over 12,000,000 tons, that of Germany
under 3,000,000, and that of Spain under 500,000. Our
exports were over £556,000,000, those of Germany
£367,000,000, and of Spain £40,000,000. Of the German
amount, however, by far the greater part went overland.
That which went by sea, and which alone we could
confiscate, was under £90,000,000, as compared with the
£566,000,000 which we had at stake. In most cases
the difference was even greater. It should be remembered
also that foreign property was largely insured in our
English insurance companies. Moreover, as merchants
must have a clean policy of insurance, they must, if
we were at war, pay a war risk on goods in our ships,
while they would not have to do so if they shipped in
neutral vessels. The rate, no doubt, would be low,
but the profits of ship-owners were not high, and the
effect would be to give foreign ship-owners a substantial
advantage.

It was said sometimes that under the Declaration of
Paris privateering was abolished, but the new arrange-
ment of arming swift ocean steamers practically re-
introduced it.

Again, the fact that we were an island made the
matter much more important. Our imports all came
by sea ; those of other countries came to a great extent
overland, and in war even more would do so. Our
stake at risk could not therefore be measured by the
amount of imports, because much of theirs came by
land, while all of ours arrived by sea.

In fact our risk compared with that of other countries
was, to use a well-known saying, like Lombard Street
to a China orange.

We had heard a great deal of late about our supplies
of raw materials and of food in times of war. There

TEMPORARY RECOVERY 311

was much evidence to the effect that, under existing
circumstances, war would raise prices considerably —
some said immensely. As regards raw materials, this
would place our manufacturers at a great disadvantage
in comparison with neutral countries. Our enemy,
on the other hand, would get his supplies overland, and
would not be so much affected.

The supply of food was, if possible, even more im-
portant. Many were very anxious on this point.
The resolution, however, would remove any cause of
apprehension. Our supplies, both of raw materials
and of food, would be aljsolutely secured.

Moreover, it must be remembered that Germany's
excuse for the sudden expansion of her Navy was the
desire to protect her commerce. If, however, private
property at sea were declared free of capture and
seizure, she would, he presumed, be willing to reduce
her sea forces, and both countries would save many
millions a year.

Under the existing system we had much to lose and
little to gain ; if private property was made free of
capture and seizure we should lose little and gain much.

From all these considerations it was of vital import-
ance to us that private property at sea should be
rendered free from capture and seizure.

Finally, he wished just to say how much he regretted
our action from a moral point of view. He heard with
a feeling of astonishment that we opposed, at the Hague
Conference, this wise and statesmanlike proposal. We
did not oppose, however, because the proposal was
against our interests, but because the resolution did
not go far enough, and might, we feared, be evaded.
The reasons given did not affect the principle, nor con-
flict with the resolution he now proposed. In any case
we ought not, unless for the gravest reasons, oppose
the general wishes of other civilised nations. In this
case he had attempted to show that our interests were
the same as theirs. He trusted and believed that
public opinion in this country would ere long — and he
hoped soon — induce the Government to reconsider their
determination ; and he would rejoice to see the London
Chamber of Commerce take steps to secure this great
and beneficent reform.

The motion was seconded by Mr. A. J. Hollington,

312 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

supported by Sir Albert K. Rollit (ex-President) and
other speakers, and carried unanimously.

APPENDIX

The Declaration of Paris, 1856

The Main Provisions are as follows :

1. Privateering is and remains abolished.

2. The neutral flag covers enemy's goods, with the
exception of contraband of war.

3. Neutral goods, with the exception of contraband
of war, are not liable to capture under enemy's
flag.

4. Blockades, in order to be legally binding, must be
effective ; that is to say, maintained by a force
sufficient really to prohibit access to the enemy's
coast.

On the 16th of the same month (October) he
had another breakfast party, and " in the after-
noon took the Chair at a large meeting of the
British Empire Trade Mark Provisional Council
at the House of Lords." Later in the year he
attended meetings of the Anglo-German Friend-
ship Conference, of the Council of Foreign Bond-
holders, of Managers of the Royal Institution,
" introduced a deputation to the Dominions
Royal Commission on the British Empire Trade
Mark. They asked many questions, and we' were
there from 2 till nearly 5," a meeting of the
British Museum, of the Committee of Propor-
tional Representation, of the Phoenix Assurance,
of the Guayaquil and Quito Railway Commission,
etc., etc. It is really a bewildering multiplicity
of occupations to conceive in relation with a
man of his years and of his health. And aU the
while he was giving his breakfast -parties and
attending occasional social functions.

TEMPORARY RECOVERY 813

His last note for the year, on its last day,
runs : " We had a fancy dress ball, which was
very pretty, and every one seemed to enjoy them-
selves." He took a most cheerful part in it,
robed in the cap and gown of the Lord Rector of
St. Andrews University. Every one said how
well it became him and how well he looked. At
12 o'clock he was urged to go to bed, but pleaded,
almost as a child might, to sit up a little longer,
saying " I am enjoying myself so."

CHAPTER XLVI

LAST DAYS (1913)

(Age 79)

The doctors told Lady Avebury that one of the
most distressing symptoms of the form of anaemia
under which Lord Avebury suffered was, as a
rule, a gradual loss of brain power and reasoning
ability. Probably it is an evidence and a result
of his more than normal sanity of brain and
clarit)'^ of thought that until the very end his
mental operations continued perfectly lucid and
with their energy but little diminished. It is
true that in his summary for 1912 he wrote :
" Most of the year I was more or less ill and up
to very little," but we have seen by what standard
we are to measure this " very little " of which he
writes, and are obliged to confess that it would
amount to a very adequate year's work for most
men in youth and health.

Early in the New Year they had at High Elms
" A large party of young people for the Bromley
Ball," and this was followed by another ball at a
neighbour's house on the following night. On the
8th he was laid up with " a little gout." The
next day the doctors ordered him to bed and

314

cH.xLvi LAST DAYS 815

rest, and on the 15th he was so much better that
they were able to move to London. On the
21st he was in the Chair at that meeting at the
Cannon Street Hotel of which Lady Avebury
gives the pathetic account quoted m the last
chapter. His own entry referring to it is :
" Took the Chair at the Free Trade meeting in the
Great Hall at Cannon Street. It was crammed,
and many standing. Balfour of Burleigh,
Brassey, Ritchie, Inchcape, Hugh Bell, A, Morley,
Blyth and Lawrence Currie spoke. S. H. Morley,
Sir E. Speyer, A. D. Elliot and many other
leading City men were there. Altogether it was
a great success."

Mr. Elliot remarks of this occasion, that he
well remembers being present, and on the plat-
form, though with no claim to rank among " City
men." " Lord Avebury's speech on January 21,
1913," he writes, " was a really admirable one,
and I remember being a good deal vexed that such
a convincing bit of reasoning was not adequately
reported by the Press."

Characteristically, Lord Avebury sounds no
note here of any exceptional effort which such a
performance must have cost him, in the condition
of his health, nor does he express any of the fears
felt by Lady Avebury. That which to others
seemed an act of astonishing courage, he carried
through as the most simple matter of course.

Lady Avebury speaks of this meeting as the
last that he attended. It was, in fact, the last of
anything like the same scale, but on the very
next day he " attended the City meeting to
protest against the Representation Bill."

816 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

On the last day of the month he writes : " Not
having been quite so well I have been kept in bed
and could not go to the Home Rule division." By
the 6th of February, however, he was well enough
to travel to Kingsgate. They were there for a
week, and then "to London. We had beautiful
weather, but both Alice and I were very suffering.
I have an article in the Nineteenth Century on
' A Study of Preference,' in which I endeavour to
show that if duties are not to be put on either
Raw materials or Food, no preference can be
given, for the simple reason that the Colonies
send us nothing else."

On February 22 he writes : " I was able to go to
the British Museum meeting. We had the wonder-
ful Sussex skull exhibited — the most Simian of any
yet found. I have been, since we got back, able
to do very little, and principally worked at my
new edition of Prehistoric Times."

This " Sussex " skull is that generally called
the Pilt-down skull, from the place, in Sussex,
where it was found.

It was on the 27th of the month that, as he
says, and as before told by Lady Avebury, " the
Duke of Argyll, Sir F. Lascelles, Sir E. Tritton,
and other members of the Anglo-German Friend-
ship Committee came to Grosvenor Street and
presented me with a charming but, I fear, too
complimentary address." On March 4 he writes :
" There is to be a Hindoo translation of The Use
of Life. There is already one in Urdu, Gujerati,
and Mahratti."

One of their guests at Kingsgate this month
was Mr. Norman Angell, who had not long before

xLvi LAST DAYS 317

rather astonished the world with his book, The
Great Illusion, aiming to show that the victor
in war had nothing to gain by victory. Lord
Avebury writes : " Angell is going to America to
Organise peace associations. I could not quite
understand how or in what capacity." Never-
theless it is likely that we may see a trace of Mr.
Angell's influence in an article to which Lord
Avebury makes reference on April 7 : " The
Times has a letter of mine on Private Property
at Sea in time of War, and the Post has inserted
an article I drew up for a German paper on the
Tripoli and Balkan Wars, in which I maintain
that the aggressors, though apparently victorious,
will gain nothing by the wars,"

On April 12 they had a few people — ^the last
guests he entertained at High Elms. " Lady
Sligo and Lady Isabel Brown, Mr. and Lady M.
Watney, and Hirst " — ^the last, the editor of the
Economist, a zealous fellow- worker. On the 14th
he writes : " They all went except Goodhart."
[This was Mr. A. M. Goodhart, the Eton Master,
who had arrived the day before the others.] " I
was laid up with enlarged heart, but was able to
go down and see them all a little, one by one."
On the 15th they motored up to Grosvenor Street,
but he had to return to bed as soon as he arrived
there, and reports himself as " still very feeble —
reading and doing proofs."

His account of himself on the 30th is brighter :
" My 79th birthday. A baddish morning, but
was able to get down after luncheon. Many of
the family came, and I had many kind letters
and telegrams."

318 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch.

On May 3 he " saw Sir W. Collins on University

of London business." It was his last effort at

anything like public work; and on the 10th he

writes : " Got out for a turn in the garden. Have

gone through a time of much suffering." The

entry of the following day records the coming of

the Grant Duffs to Grosvenor Street and the birth

of another Grant Duff grandchild — and that

record is the last.

:|c * * * * *

He died sixteen days after the date of this
last entry, at 3 a.m. of May 28, 1913. His mind
was absolutely clear up to the last two days, when
he became, as it seemed, unconscious to all his
surroundings excepting Lady Avebury, whose
hand he held and kissed, while he smiled — with
that wonderfully kind expression which his face
never lost — again and again all the last day of his
life.

He had been most anxious to be moved to
Kingsgate, and on the 22nd, by the doctor's
consent, had made the journey by motor. He
stood the fatigue well, though he was very weak,
and twice that night said that it had been worth
the effort. On the Friday a bed was made up
for him in the cloisters, and he was carried down
to it in time to hear the new clock, which had
been put up in the courtyard, strike eleven. It
had been a joint present to him from some of the
family, on his 79th birthday, and he was much
pleased with the tone of its strike. He stayed
out, on the bed in the cloisters, till five in the
afternoon, but in the evening he began to fail
rapidly. He grew restless if Lady Avebury left

LAST DAYS 319

him for a moment, and she was with him virtually
all the time until the Wednesday morning when
he died. The end was absolutely peaceful : he
passed from unconscious life to death.

On the 30th his body was taken to High Elms.
Letters and telegrams of condolence poured in
from all parts of the globe. He was buried on
Saturday, May 31, in the Farnborough church-
yard. The ceremony was the most simple that
can be imagined. In the words of the Times
report, " There was no hearse, there were no
carriages ; all the mourners walked. The plain
oak coffin was borne on the shoulders of men
he had known, and was followed by his family,
a few intimate friends, and groups of tenantry
and servants. The procession from High Elms
wound in a long line down the drive, across the
public road, and, entering a wood, passed along
a wide grass lane, altogether some three-quarters
of a mile, to the church, which was crowded with
friends and neighbours."

The service was read by Doctor Butler, the
Master of Trinity, assisted by the Rev. Herbert
Pelham and the Rev. E. J. Welch ; and he was
laid in a grave above which now stands a beauti-
ful cross, in full view, across the valley, from the
old home at High Elms.

Accordingly as a man has lived wisely and
kindly, so must his death be mourned when his
wisdom and kindness are taken from those who
have relied upon them. No words can express
the sense of loss, as of an unfailing prop and
comfort, of a guide as sagacious as he was affec-
tionate, felt by Lord Avebury's family and, above

320 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch. xlvi

all, by his devoted widow. He had been the
ever-present friend in all difficulties, and for
many years he and Lady Avebury had hardly
been apart. Such grief may scarcely bear to be
touched on in a page which is to be scanned by
the public eye, but if any account at all adequate
has been given here of Lord Avebury's character,
and of the closeness of the mutual affection which
drew him and Lady Avebury together, the pro-
found and irreparable gap left by his death may
be tolerably understood.

Above his grave stands his monument in
stone. His living memorial is the imperishable
gratitude of thousands whose lives have been
made less grievous by his legislation and whose
souls have been cheered and strengthened by
the high thoughts which he has given to their
knowledge.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF LORD AVEBURY'S CHIEF
PUBLISHED WORKS

Preliistoric Times. As Illustrated by Ancient Remains and the

Manners and Customs of Modern Savages. May 1865.

Williams & Norgate.
The Origin of Civilisation and the Primitive Condition of Man.

Feb. 1870. Longmans, Green & Co.
Monograph on the Collembola and Thysanura. Ray Society.

1871.
The Origin and Metamorphoses of Insects. Oct. 1873. Mac-

millan & Co.
British Wild Flowers considered in Relation to Insects. Nov.

1874. Maemillan & Co.
Addresses, Political and Educational. May 1879. Maemillan

& Co.
Scientific Lectures. June 1879. Maemillan & Co.
Fifty Years of Science. Jan. 1882. Maemillan & Co.
Ants, Bees, and Wasps. 1882. Kegan Paul, Trench & Co.
On Representation. June 1885. Swan Sonnenschein & Co.
Flowers, Fruits and Leaves. Feb. 1886. Maemillan & Co.
Chapters in Popular Natural History. 1886. National Society.
The Pleasures of Life. Part I. June 1887. Maemillan & Co.
The Senses of Animals. 1888. Kegan Paul, Trench & Co.
The Pleasures of Life. Part II. April 1889. Maemillan & Co.
La Vie des Plantes. 1889. J. B. Bailliere et Fils.
The Beauties of Nature. Oct. 1892. Maemillan & Co.
Seedlings. 2 vols. 1892. Kegan Paul, Trench & Co.
The Use of Life. Oct. 1894. Maemillan & Co.
The Scenery of Switzerland. June 1896. Maemillan & Co.
On Buds and Stipules. 1899. Kegan Paul, Trench & Co.
The Scenery of England. Feb. 1902. Maemillan & Co.
Coins and Currency. 1902. John Murray.
P^ssays and Addresses. Dec. 1903. Maemillan & Co.
Free Trade. May 1904. Maemillan & Co.
Notes on the Life History of British Flowering Plants. Nov.

1905. Maemillan & Co.
VOL. II 321 Y

322 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK

Happiness and Thrift. Jan. 1906. Macmillan & Co.

On Municipal and National Training. Nov. 1906. Macmillan

& Co.
On Peace and Happiness. Feb. 1909. Macmillan & Co.
Marriage, Totemism and Religion. 1911. Longmans.

Besides the above, published in book form, he contributed a
very large number of articles, many of which have been noticed
in the course of these volumes, on various subjects, to British and
Foreign journals.

INDEX

Aberdare, Lord, letter from, on
bill to amend company law, i.
164-165

Abingdon Abbey School, i. 9-14

Acceptance of Bills Act, i. 160

Addington, Lord, i. 197

African Society, address to, ii. 172

Aga Khan, The, ii. 124, 125, 170,
199, 288

Airy, Sir William, i. 58

Alexandra, Queen, i. 183

Ameer AH, ii. 288

Ancient Monuments, Bill to pro-
vide for better preservation of,
i. 126-127, 150, 15.3, 167, 173-174

Anderson, Miss Mary (Madame
Navarro), i. 205

Andre, C, letter from, on pro-
portional representation, i. 203-
204

Angell, Norman, ii. 316-317

Angerstein, Mr., i. 66

Anglo-German Friendship Move-
ment, ii. 216 et seq., 231, 232,
249-252, 278, 279, 294, 312

Anson, Sir William, ii. 171

Antiquaries, Society of, ii. 211,
242

Antrobus, Sir Edward, ii. 136

Ants, Bees, and Wasps, i. 135, 183

Archaeological Institute, i. 82

Argyll, l3uke of, letters on
Darwinism, i. 298, 299 ; on
glacial age, 323 ; ii. 232, 297

Armaments, Anglo-German limita-
tion of, ii. 249-252

Arnold, Sir Edwin, on Sir John
Lubbock, i. 291-293

Athenaeum, The, review of Pre-
historic Times, i. 75

Athenaeum Club, Sir John Lub-
bock's connexion with, ii. 166-
170
Atlantic cable, i. 83-85

Avebury, antiquity of, i. 86-87,

131-132
Avebury, Lady. See Lubbock,

Lady
Avebury, Lord. See Lubbock,

Sir John
Avebury, Lord (son), i. 46, 166,

174, 204 ; ii. 77

Bagehot, Walter, on Prehistoric

Times, i. 89-90 ; on Clearing

House returns, 91, 95
Balfour, Rt. Hon. A. J., letter on

Telephone Bill, ii. Ill, 134
Balfour, Rt. Hon. Gerald, ii. 134
Ball, Sir Robert, letter from, on

the Ice Age, i. 304
Bankers* Books Evidence Act,

i. 155
Bank Holidays Act, i. 119-126 ;

ii. 66-67
Bank Holidays, sobriety on, i.

195, 196 ; ii. 79
Beach, Sir Michael Hicks. See

St. Aldwyn, Lord
Beaconsfield, Lord, i. 96, 97, 121,

160
Beauties of Nature, i. 322, 828,

333 et seq. ; ii. 200
Bedford, Duke of, i. 179
BelCs Life on Bank Holiday Act,

i. 124-125
Belper, Lord, ii. 150, 151
Bentham, George, i. 58
" Bessie," ii. 280
Bills of Exchange Bill, i. 188
Bimetallism, ii. 2, 58, 60, 82 et seq.
Birch, H. M., i. 17, 18, 19
Birkbeck, Robert, i. 1, 97, 218
Birkbeck, Mrs. Robert (sister), i.

218 ; death of, ii. 277
Bishop, Irving, letter to, on
thought-reading experiment, i .
189

323

324 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK

Bismarck, Count, i. 179

Blind, Karl, letter from, ii. 220

Bonaparte, Prince Roland, ii. 288

Bonney, Professor T. G., letter on
the glacial age, i. 322-323 ; ii.
63, 64 ; letter on Scenery of
England, 153-154, 175

Booth, Mrs., ii. 205

Boulton, G. B., i. 288

Bourne, Professor G. C, ii. 237

Boustany, M., ii. 300

Boyd, Rev., A. K. H., ii. 72, 73,
74

Rramwell, Sir Frederick, i. 209

Brandreth, Mrs., i. 61

Brassey, Lord, ii. 191, 192

Bright, Rt. Hon. John, letter from,
on " best 100 books," i. 219

British Empire League, ii. 39-42,
46-48, 60, 80, 108, 278, 296

Broadhurst, H., i. 286

Browne, Sir Thomas, statue of,
ii. 213-214

Budge, Dr. E. A. WaUis, ii. 58 ;
letter regarding Coins and Cur-
rency, ii. 160-164

Buds and Stipules, On, ii. 103, 112

Billow, Prince, ii. 216 ; letter
from, 217-218

Burns,Rt.Hon.John,i.316; ii.300

Busk, Sir E. H., i. 170

Busk, Professor George, i, 23, 39 ;
Sir John Lubbock's apprecia-
tion of, 40, 50, 51, 58, 63, 87 ;
death of, 233

Busk, Mrs., i. 39, 87

Butler, Dr. H. M., ii. 319

Buxton, Lord, i. 93, 106, 182, 197,
222, 279, 282, 283 ; letter from,
on Dock Strike, 284-285 ; ap-
pointed Colonial Under-Secre-
tary, 332

Buxton, Gumey, ii. 213

Buxton, Mrs. Sydney (daughter),
i. 166, 182 ; letter from, 279-
280, 310, 314 ; letter from, 332 ;
death, 335

Cambon, Paul, letter from, sending

cross of the Legion of Honour,

u. 188
Cambridge University, Peterhouse

Sexcentenary, i. 209
Canadian Reciprocity Treaty, ii.

299
Carnegie, Andrew, letter on Coins

and Currency, ii. 164, 211 ;

letter from, 248-249

Cavendish, Lord Frederick, mur-
der of, i. 187-188

Chamberlain, Rt. Hon. Joseph,
i. 274, 334 ; ii. 19 ; letter from,
124, 191, 192, 103, 196, 211

Chambers of Commerce, Associa-
tion of, ii. 117, 128, 129, 267

Chambers, Robert, i. 93

Chaplin, Rt. Hon. H., ii. 2, 8 ;
letter from, on bimetallism, 4-5

Chisholm, Hugh, ii. 242

Churchill, Lord Randolph, i. 228 ;
letter from, on gold coinage,
229-230

Clarence, Duke of, his intended
marriage, i. 315, 316

" Club, The," i. 325 : ii. 113

Coinage Committee, i. 300, 326

Coins and Currency, ii. 157 et
seq.

Colchester Oyster Feast, ii. 190-
191

Colenso, Bishop, i. 9

Collier, Hon. John, ii. 1

Collins, Sir W„ ii. 318

Commercial Intelligence Com-
mittee, ii. 129

Companies Act, Bill to amend, i.
164-165, 167

Cook, Sir E. T., i. 307, 308

Corea, annexation of, by Japan,
ii. 283

Corelli, Marie, letter from, on
Lloyd George finance, ii. 265-
266

Coronation Stone (Lia Phail),
ii. 138

Courtney, Lord, i. 202, 207, 211 ;
ii. 54; letters from, 123, 233,
256, 300

Cox, Harold, ii. 152

Creyke, Archdeacon, i. 33

Currency, Royal Commission on,
i. 228 et seq.

Curtis, Sir William, i. 3

Daily News, article on Bank
Holidays, i. 125

Darwin, Charles, i. 0, 15, 23, 25,
32, 33, 40, 41, 42 ; publication
of Origin of Species, 40-50 ;
letter to, 55-56, 57, 58, 02 ; on
The Origin and Metamorphoses
of Insects, 130 ; on Prehistoric
Times, 148, 176, 180 ; death of,
and funeral, 183 et seq. ; cen-
tenary of birth, 257-258, 260 ;
letter of, 269-270 ; letters from,

INDEX

825

i. 39, 45, 48-49, 73-74, 130, 148,
151, 176
Darwin, Sir Francis, i. 184 ; ii.

256 ; letter from, ii. 257
Davis, Professor W. M., letter

from, ii. 214-215
Daylight Saving Bill, ii. 259
Debentures Bill, ii. 240
de Constant, D'Estournelles,

letters from, ii. 228, 229
de Lesseps, M. Ferdinand, i. 208
De Lubyck, ancient form of

Lubbock, i. 1
Dental Practitioners Act, i. 160
de Perthes, M. Boucher, i. 51
Derby, Lord, i. 137 ; ii. 60
Desborough, Lady, anecdote of,

ii. 67
Desborough, Lord, ii. 67
Devonshire, Duke of, i. 164, 263 ;
letter from, on Imperial Federa-
tion League, ii. 40, 47, 48, 193,
197 ; death of, 259-260
d'Hondt, M., on Proportional Re-
presentation, i. 214-215
Dimsdale, Sir Joseph, ii. 170
Disraeli, B. See Beaconsfield,

Lord
Dock strike, i. 278 et seq.
Dock Warrants, i. 232-233
Donaldson, Sir James, ii. 253
Dreams, notes of, ii. 156, 157
Duff, Adrian Grant, ii. 224,

235
Duff, Mrs. Adrian Grant (daugh-
ter), i. 215, 305, 336, 337 ; ii. 55,
59, 77, 130, 192, 201, 204, 205 ;
marriage of, 224, 235
Duff, Sir M. E. Grant, i. 178, 181 ;
letter from, 327 ; Geographical
Society and women Fellows,
ii. 17, 48, 70, 74, 105, 113 ; letter
from, 123, 134 ; letter from, on
Colchester Ovster Feast, 190 ;
death of, 224^
DufTerin, Lord, on The Use of Life,

ii. 34
Dutt, Romerli, ii. 104, 105
Dyke, Sir VV. Hart, i. 66, 74

Eames, Bromley, ii. 189

Early Closing movement, i. 150,
266, 286 ; ii. 6, 20, 21, 43, 60,
134-136, 149-151, 179, 180, 199,
200, 210

Edinburgh, University of. Ter-
centenary Celebration, i. 208

Edison, T. A., i. 183

Edward VIL, King, i. 183 ;

Theatres Bill, 310 ; telegram

from, ii. 168, 169, 170, 232 ;

death of, 277-278
Elementary Schools, curricula for,

i. 129
Elliot, Arthur, i. 138
Ellis, Sir J. Whittaker, i. 280, 281
Endowed Schools Act, Bill to

amend, i. 127-129
Entwistle, Mr. (great-uncle), i.

34
Essays and Addresses, ii. 172, 180
Essays and Reviews, i. 57
Eton, visit to, ii. 236-237
Evans, Sir John, i. 23, 56, 85, 86,

309 ; death of, ii. 260
Eversley, Lord, on the Ancient

Monuments Act, i. 168
Examiner, The, on Prehistoric

Times, i. 75

Falsification of Accounts Bill, i.

150-151
Farrer, Lord, i. 302 ; letters from,

318-320, 321, 322 ; ii. 83
Fawcett, Rt. Hon. Henry, i. 155
Fenton, Miles, i. 195, 196
Ferguson, James, i. 86, 87
Fildes, Sir Luke, ii. 139
Fitch, Sir G. J., i. 170 ; u. 49
Flower, Sir W. H., letters from, ii.

84, 85-86, 98
Forestry, Committee on, i. 217
Forms of stems, ii. 202-204
Forster, H. W., ii. 274
Forster, Rt. Hon. W. E., i. 127,

128
Fortnightly Review, article in,

ii. 298
Foster, Sir Michael, i. 170 ; ii. 49 ;

letter to, 125 ; death of, 243
France and England, relations

between, ii. 126-128
France, Bank of, letter from, ii.

158-159
Franco-British Exhibition, ii. 232
Frankland, Edward, i. 63, 64
Franks, Sir A. W., on Prehistoric

Times, i.75
Frazer, Sir James, letters from, on

religion and magic, ii. 146-148,

188-189
Free Trade, ii. 199, 206, 268, 275,

302, 315
Fremantle, Sir C, i. 309, 326 ;

ii. 54, 55, 95
Friedrich, Empress, i. 313

326 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK

Galton, Sir D., i. 51

Galton, Francis, on The Use of
Life, ii. 34

Gaulois, letter to, ii. 126

Geikie, Professor James, ii. 63,
211, 261

Geographical Society and Female
Fellows, ii. 17

Geological Society, Gold Medal
from, ii. 174-175 ; centenary of,
246

George V., King, ii. 297

George, Rt. Hon. D. Lloyd, ii. 265,
266, 267 ; and House of Lords,
285 et seq.

Gladstone, Rt. Hon. W. E., i. 96,
99, 113 ; on ancient metals, 145 ;
visit to High Elms, 156-157, 174,
175, 178 ; anecdote of, 190, 196,
199, 200, 207 ; on income tax,
209 ; General Gordon, 216,
223, 225; introduces Home
Rule Bill, 226, 296, 297; £1
notes, 309-310, ii. 19; address
to, on retirement, 24 ci seq. ;
death of, 97 ; anecdote of, 145,
146 ; letters from, i. 145 ; ii.
25-26

Gladstone, Mrs., i. 174, 332

Goebel, Professor K., letter on
Buds and Stipules, ii. 112

Gold Defence Association, ii. 82

Golden Bough, The, ii. 146 el seq.,
188, 189

Goldsmid, Sir Julian, i. 169

Goodhart, A. M., ii. 317

Gordon, General, i. 216

Goschen, Lord, i. 309 ; ii. 210

Gosse, Edmund, ii. 164

Graham, Cunninghame, i. 328

Graham, Sir H., ii. 268

Graham, Thomas, i. 58

Grant, Sir J., i. 332

Granville, Lord, i. 136, 137, 164

Great Thoughts, letter to, on the
twentieth century, ii. 31-32

Grenfell, H. R., letter on bi-
metallism, i. 431 ; letter from,
311

Grenfell, Riversdale, i. 87

Grey, Sir Edward, ii. 292

Gripper, Alderman, i. 210

Grosvenor, Lord Richard, i. 216

Grueber, H. A., ii. 157, 158

Gull, Sir W., i. 169

Gully, W. C. See Selby, Lord

Gumey, Russel, i. 129

Guy's Hospital, ii. 19

Haldane, Lord, ii. 211
Halsbury, Lord, i. 165 ; ii. 211, 283
Hambro, Sir Everard, i. 328 ; ii. 21
Hamilton, Archibald, i. 95, 97
Hamilton, Lord George, ii. 171
Harcourt, Sir William, i. 267 ; on

Income Tax, ii. 16, 26, 27 ;

letters from, i. 329-330 ; ii. 16
Hare, Thomas, letter from, on

Proportional Representation, i.

213, 214
Harris, F. Leverton, letter on

Declaration of London, ii. 291-

292
Harrison, Charles, i. 316
Harrison, Frederic, i. 226 ; letter

from, on King Alfred Millen-
ary Commemoration, ii. 86-87;

letter on best hundred books,

55 et seq.
Harrow School, lecture at, i. 335
Hartington, Lord. See Devon-
shire, Duke of
Hartland, E. S., letter from, ii.

282-283
Hay, Hon. John, ii. 91
Head, Barclay, ii. 158
Head, Sir Edmund, i. 97
Heddle, Professor, ii. 72 ; ghost

story by, 73
Hedeman, Jules, letter to, ii. 241-

242
Heim, Dr., letters from, ii. 61, 62-

63, 247
Herbert, Sir Robert, letter from,

on British Empire League, ii.

46-47, 48
Herbert, R. G. W., letter from,

ii. 188
Hereford, Lord James of, ii. 121 ;

letter from, 123, 197
Herkomer, Sir Hubert von, ii. 293
Herschell, Lord, i. 170
Hillingdon, Lord, i. 313
Hirst, F. W., ii. 317
Hirst, Thomas Archer, i. 63, 79, 87
Hoar, Senator, ii. 67, 68
Hoare, Robin, i. 286
Hobhouse, Lord, on Endowed

Schools Act, i. 127 et seq. ;

letter from, 128-129
Holland, Sir W. H., ii. 198
Holmesdale, Lord, i. 66
Home, Lady, i. 12
Home Rule, i. 216, 223, 225 ; city

protest, ii. 18
Hooker, Sir Joseph, i. 23, 49, 63,

64 ; letter on The Senses of

INDEX

327

Animals, 269 ; letter from, 325 ;
ii. 204-215 ; letter on Darwin
centenary, 269, 284 ; death of,
298

Hordern, Miss. See Lubbock,
Lady (wife)

Hordern, Rev. Peter, i. 34

Hornby, Dr., i. 98 ; ii. 236

Horner, Leonard, i. 58

Hovelaque, Professor, letter on
The Use of Life, ii. 68-69

Hubbard, Rt. Hon. J. G. See
Addington, Lord

Hughes, Thomas, i. 129 ; on the
scouring of the White Horse,
192-193, 337; letters from, 129-
193, 337

" Hundred best books," i. 219 et
seq. ; Mr. Ruskin's views on,
261, 307, 308 ; Mr. Frederic
Harrison on, ii. 55 el seq., 91
el seq.

Hutton, R. H., letter from, i. 100-
101

Huxley, Leonard, i. 88

Huxley, T. H., i. 23, 43, 44, 55,
58, 57, 63, 79, 88, 108, 117, 131,
148, 176, 200 ; ii. 27, 28 ; on
The Use of Life, 34, 303 ; letters
from, i. 44, 117-118, 258 ; ii. 34

Iddesleigh, Lord, letter from, on

" best 100 books," i. 220-222 ;

ii. 116 ; letter from, 117
Imperial Federation League. See

British Empire League
Income Tax, collection of, ii. 15, 16
Income Tax, farmers', ii. 26, 27
Income Tax Reduction League,

ii. 242
Indian Currency, ii. 97-99
International Library Conference,

ii. 81, 82
Irish Institute of Bankers, ii. 96 ;

inaugural address, 98

Jameson Raid Committee, ii. 77, 78
Jessel, Sir George, i. 169
Jowett, Professor, i. 57, 174

Kammalahs, petition on behalf of,

ii. 70 et seq., 87
Kaiser, the, ii. 216, 249, 252
Kelvin, Lord, ii. 121
Kimberley, Lord, ii. 1.33
King, Rev. Bryan, j. 132
Kingsgate Castle, purchase of,

ii. 1,39 et seq., 190

Kingsley, Charles, i. 23, 33, 37, 43 ;

letter on Prehistoric Times, 91-92
Knight, Professor, ii. 75
Knowles, Sir James, i. 131
Kruger, Paul, ii. 116

Lanciani, Professor, i. 286

Lankester, Sir E. Ray, recollec-
tions of Lord Avebury, i. 59 ;
letter from, ii. 200-201

Lansdowne, Lord, i. 108 ; letter
to, ii. 217

Lapparent, A. de, letters from, ii.
245-246

Laurence, Sir W., i. 164

Law, Rt. Hon. A. Bonar, corre-
spondence with, on trade with
Germany, ii. 222-223, 256

Lawrence, Sir Joseph, ii. 210

Layard, Sir A. H., i. 96

Leaf-forms, study of, i. 179-180

Lecky, W. E. H., i. 248 ; letter
from, ii.l04

Lee, W., i. 102

Leet, F. L., ii. 96

Legion of Honour, Cross of, con-
ferred, ii. 188

Leighton, Lord, i. 208, 309

Life and Letters of Charles Darwin ,
i. 184

Limited Partnership Bill, ii. 243

Linnean Society, elected President,
i. 174 ; paper on Limits in
Vision of the Lower Animals,
179, 303 ; portrait for, 311

Lister, Lord, ii. 149 ; letter on
Early Closing Bill, 150

Literature, Royal Society of, ii.
176

Lloyd, Edward, i. 3

Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper, letter
on Bank Holiday Act, ii. 66

Lobuk, Robert, i. 2

Lockyer, Sir Norman, i. 108 ;
letters from, on Stonehenge, ii.
137

Lodge, Sir Oliver, ii. 184

London Bankers, by F. G. Hilton
Price, i. 2

London County Council, i. 269 et
seq., 300 et seq., 314, 315 ;
finance of, 317, 318 et seq. ;
portrait painted for, ii. 1 ;
declines Chairmanship, 45

London, Declaration of, ii. 289
et seq., 290

London Institution, ii. 231

London Municipal Society, ii. 238

328 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK

London University election, ii.
48 el seq.

London University, reconstitution
of, ii. 48 et seq.

Loubet, M., ii. 128, 188

Louise, Princess, ii. 297

Lowe, Robert (Lord Siierbrooke),
i. 50, 95, 119, 126, 127, 169

Lowe, Mrs., i. 50

Lubbocic, Alfred, i. 81

Lubbock, Basil (nephew), ii. 101

Lubbock, Beaumont (brother),
i. 177, 201 ; ii. 263 ; death of,
264

Lubbock, Edgar (brother), i. 81,
177 ; death of, ii. 243-246

Lubbock, Eric (son), ii. 19, 1.38,
140, 141, 170, 175, 176, 211, 223,
239, 253, 268, 295, 298

Lubbock, Frederick (brother), i.
82, 177

Lubbock, Gertrude (daughter), i.
166, 181, 188, 197, 199

Lubbock, Harold (son), ii. 106,
211, 223 ; marriage of, 274, 283

Lubbock, Henry (brother), i. 22,
177, 290 ; death of, ii. 277

Lubbock, Hugh (nephew), i. 204

Lubbock, Irene (daughter). See
Pelham, Mrs.

Lubbock, John, ancestor, i. 2

Lubbock, Sir John (Lord Ave-
bury), family history, i. 1-4 ;
childhood, 5-9 ; early interest in
insects, 6 ; early school life, 9-
14 ; interest in Natural History,
12, 13 ; impressions of Eton,
16-17, 19-21 ; entry into busi-
ness, 22 et seq. ; first lecture, 23 ;
intercourse with Darwin, 23 ;
first scientific work, 23, 33 ;
elected member of the Royal
Institution, 23 ; early business
experience, 28 et seq.'; cricket,
29 ; joins militia, 30 ; daily
routine of work, 30, 31, 32 ;
attends British Association for
first time, 33 ; meets Miss
Hordern (Lady Lubbock), 34,
35 ; goes abroad for first time,
36 ; meets Sir Charles Lyell,
36, 37 ; discovers skull of musk
ox, 38-39 ; paper on Ento-
mostraca, 39 ; Darwin's influ-
ence on, 40-42 ; marriage, 42 ;
" On the Respiration of In-
sects," 43 ; paper on the
Daphnia, 44 ; Fellow of the |

Royal Society, 44 ; suggests
Country Clearing, 47-48 ; Origin
of Species, 49-50 ; " Palaeo-
lithic " and " Neolithic," 51 ;
elected to Council of Royal
Society, 52 ; anecdotes, 52-55 ;
visits Switzerland, 56 ; scientific
papers, 56 ; Essays and Reviews,
57 ; lecture on Lake Habita-
tions of Switzerland, 58-59 ;
sense of humour, 60 ; scientific
activity, 60-61 ; invited to
stand for parliament (City of
London), 62-03 ; " X Club,"
63-64; candidate for West
Kent, m et seq. ; death of father,
67 ; letters and diaries, 68-69 ;
relations with family, 70 et seq. ;
loses election, 74 ; Prehistoric
Times, 74-75 ; on London Clear-
ing System, 76 ; in railway
accident, 77-78 ; paper on the
Bronze Age, 80 ; appointed to
Senate University of London,
80 ; love of cricket, 81 ; archae-
ology, 82-83 ; Atlantic cable,
84-85 ; visit to Hallstatt, 80 ;
as to ages of Avebury and
Stonebenge, 86-87 ; Red Lion
Club, 88 ; suggests publication
of Clearing House returns, 90 ;
" On the Primitive Conditions
of Man," 93 ; invited to stand
for University of London, 94-
95 ; on Royal Commission, 97 ;
Public School Commissioner,
ibid. ; at eruption of Vesuvius,
ibid. ; visit to Switzerland, 98 ;
West Kent election, 98-99 ;
ancient bronze, 100 ; elected
M.P. for Maidstone, 103 ;
maiden speech, 103-108 ; Royal
Commission on Scientific In-
struction, 108 ; introduces bill
to deal with absconding debtors,
108 ; parliamentary cricket
match, 108-109 ; objects in
entering parliament, 110-111 ;
publishes Origin of Civilisation,
11.5-116 ; visits Liverpool slums,
1 17 ; first President of Anthro-
pological Institute, 117-118 ; on
reduction of National Debt,
118-119 ; Bank Holidays Act,
119-126; newspaper comments,
122-125 ; testimonial from
bankers' emploves, 126 ; An-
cient Monuments Bill, 126-127 ;

INDEX

329

Endowed Schools Act (amend-
ing bill), 127-129 ; curricula for
Elementary Schools, 129 ; meta-
morphoses of insects, 129-130 ;
relief measures (siege of Paris),
i;U ; purchase of land at
Aveljury, 131-133; Shopkeepers
and Shop Assistants Bill, 133-
134 ; begins study of ants,
135; Vice-Chaneellor of London
University, 136-137 ; Patents
Bill, 138 ; trip down the Dan-
ube, 138-141 ; his tame wasp,
141-142; excavations in Greece,
142-145 ; his mother's death,
147 ; early closing of shops, 150 ;
Ancient Monuments Bill, 150 ;
second Maidstone election, 150 ;
on insects and flowers, 151-152 ;
Ancient Monuments Bill, 153 ;
Bankers' Books Evidence Act,
155 : Stonehenge, 156 ; Glad-
stone's visit, 150-157 ; origin of
£1 notes, 158-159 ; Trustee of
British Museum, 160 ; Dental
Practitioners Act, 160 ; Accept-
ance of Bills Act, 160 ; LL.D. of
Dublin University, 162 ; Presi-
dent of Institute of Bankers,
162 ; asked to stand for the
City, 164 ; bill to amend com-
pany law, 164-165 ; death of
first wife, 165-166 ; Companies
Act, 167 ; Ancient Monuments
Bill, 167 ; defeated at Maid-
stone, 168-169 ; elected M.P.
for University of London, 169
et seq. ; Ancient Monuments
Bill, 174-175 ; meetings with
Gladstone, 174, 175 ; President
of Linnean Society, 174 ;
Jubilee meeting of Britisfi As-
sociation, 175 ; visits Glad-
stone, 178 ; study of leaf-forms,
179-180 ; marriage of daughter
(Mrs. Sydney Buxton), 182 ;
forestrv, 182 ; electric lighting,
183 ; "death of Darwin, 183
et seq. ; attitude towards re-
ligion, 186-187 ; meeting with
Ruskin, 188 ; Irving Bishop
and thought-reading experi-
ment, 189 ; Senses of Animals,
100 ; sobriety on Bank Holi-
days, 195-196 ; on reduction
of National Debt, 198 ; pro-
portional representation, 201
et seq. ; second marriage, 206 ;

proportional representation, 207;
University of Edinburgh, 208 ;
at Cambridge, 209 ; propor-
tional representation, 211 et
seq. ; Seedlings, 215 ; Arbitra-
tion question, 210 ; parliament-
ary work, 217 ; paper on Ants,
Bees, and Wasps, 218 ; unveils
statue of Sir J. Mason, 218 ;
best hundred books, 219 el seq. ;
lecture on Reading, 223 ; Shop
Hours Regulation Bill, 223-224,
228 ; Home Rule Bill, 225 et
seq. ; currency and gold coinage,
228 et seq. ; bimetallism, 231 ;
Dock Warrants, 232-233 ; The
Pleasures of Life, 235 et seq. ;
Public Libraries Bill, 250 ;
Public Accounts, 250 et seq. ;
Mr. Ruskin, 260-262 ; letter on
Ireland, 203-264 ; London
County Council, 269 et seq. ;
breakfast parties, 273 ; Declara-
tion of Paris, 274 et seq. ; Dock
strike, 278 et seq. ; Gas Com-
panies' dispute, 287 : Privy
Councillor, 289 ; golf, 290-291 ;
Home Rule, 294 et seq. ; Duke
of Argyll and Darwinism, 298,
299 ; Chairman, London County
Council, 300 et seq. ; Linnean
Society, 303 ; peninsulas in the
Southern Hemisphere, 305-306 ;
hundred best books, 307, 308 ;
Coinage Committee, 309 ;
threatened omnibus strike,
311 ; Reform Club, 312 ; re-
signs Secretaryship of London
Bankers, 313 ; resigns Chair-
manship, London County Coun-
cil, 314, 315 ; intended marriage
of Duke of Clarence, 315, 316 ;
London County Council, 317
et seq. ; The Beauties of Nature,
322 et seq. ; Chamber of Com-
merce, 324 ; " The Club," 325 ;
Coinage Commission, 326 ; Shop
Hours' Amendment Bill, 328
et seq. ; General Election, 330 ;
Beauties of Nature, 333 et seq. ;
death of Mrs. Sydney Buxton,
335 ; On Seedlings, n. 1 ; bi-
metallism, 2 ; address to Work-
ing Men's College, 6-15 ; Income
Tax, 15, 16 ; Geographical
Society and women Fellows, 17
City Home Rule protest, 18
death of Professor Tyndall, 20

330 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK

Early Closing movement, 20-
21 ; diary, 22-23 ; address to
Mr. Gladstone, 24 et seq. ;
farmers' Income Tax, 26 ;
fossils at Murren, 28-29 ; on
the twentieth century, 31-32 ;
TIte Use of Life, 32 et seq. ;
London Society for Extension
of University Teaching, 37, 39 ;
Imperial Federation League,
39-42 ; London County Coun-
cil, 44 et seg. ; British Empire
League, 46-48 ; General Elec-
tion, 48 et seq. ; Foreign Bond-
holders, 54 ; hundred best
books, 55 et seq. ; The Scenery of
Switzerland, 58, 60 el seq. ;
Kammalahs, 70-72 ; anecdotes,
73 ; Jameson Raid, 77, 78 ;
Diamond Jubilee, 80 ; Inter-
national Library Conference,
81 ; bimetallism, 80 et seq. ;
Zoological Society, 84-86 ; use
of phonograph, 89-90 ; issue
of " Best Hundred Books," 91
el seq. ; London and Irish
Bankers, 95, 96 ; Indian cur-
rency, 97-99 ; recreation, 102-
103 ; Royal Historical Society,
105 ; Telephone Bill, 107-111 ;
"The Club," 113; seats for
shop assistants, 114 ; South
African War, 116 ; Association
of Chambers of Commerce, 117 ;
offer of peerage, 118 el seq. ;
congratulations, 121 el seq. ;
University of London, 125-126 ;
France and England, 126-128 ;
Associated Chambers of Com-
merce, visit to Paris, 128-129 ;
President Royal Statistical
Society, 129 ; death of Queen
Victoria, 133 ; Early Closing
movement, 134-136 ; Stone-
henge, 136, 137 ; Coronation
Stone, 138 ; purchase of Kings-
gate Castle, 139 et seq. ; science
teaching in University of Lon-
don, 141 et seq. ; religion and
magic, 146 et seq. ; Early
Closing movement, 149-151 ;
Scenery of England, 152 el seq. ;
dreams, 156; Coins and Cur-
rency, 157 et seq. ; Nobel prize,
164-166; Athenaeum Club, 166-
170; Geological Society, 174-
175 ; Early Closing movement,
179 ; tablet to Lord Macaulay,

180-181 ; experiment in moun-
tain-building, 181-184; religious
views, 184-185; Legion of Hon-
our, 188 ; The Golden Bough,
188-189 ; Tariff Reform, 191-
192 ; Indian translations of
books, 193-194 ; Tariff Reform,
196 ; Sunday Closing Bill, 197 ;
Early Closing movement, 199-
200 ; Forms of Stems, 202-204 ;
coal, 205 ; Early Closing and
Sunday Closing Bills, 210 ; the
Diplodocus, 211 ; luncheon to
French Fleet, 212 ; Life History
of British Plants, 213 ; Sir
Thomas Browne's statue, 213-
214 ; Anglo-German Friendship
Society, 216 et seq. ; death of
Sir M." E. Grant Duff, 224-225 ;
Moral Instruction League, 225-
226 ; Sunday Trading, 227 ;
" The Future of Europe," 228-
229 ; visit of German burgo-
masters and editors, 232 ; pro-
portional representation, 233 ;
Sunday closing, 234 ; Municipal
and National Trading, 235-236 ;
gramophone speeches, 238 ;
American currency, 240 ; De-
bentures Bill, ibid. ; death of
brother Edgar, 243-246 ; old-
age pensions, 247-248 ; rector
of St. Andrews, 248-249 ; Anglo-
German friendship and limita-
tion of armaments, 249-252 ;
St. Andrews University, 253-
254 ; Free Trade speech, 254-
256 ; Darwin-Wallace celebra-
tion, 257-258 ; legislative activi-
ties, 259 ; death of Sir John
Evans, 260 ; Royal Scottish
Geographical Society, 261-262 ;
opposition to Lloyd George
Budget, 265 el seq. ; Royal
Academy dinner, 267 ; Darwin
centenary, 269-270 ; popularity
of books, 270-273 ; Free Trade,
275-276 ; on Primitive Paternity,
282 ; Mr. Lloyd George and the
House of Lords, 285 et seq. ; In-
stitute of France, 287 ; Declara-
tion of London, 289 et seq. ;
study of pollen, 295 ; Canadian
Reciprocity Treaty, 299 ; ill-
ness, 302, 305 el seq. ; private
property at sea, 309-312 ; Free
Trade meeting, 315 : last days
and death, 316-320

INDEX

331

Letters to : —

Addington, Lord, i. 198
Argyll, Duke of, i. 298, 299

Bates, , i. 305-306

Bishop, Irving, i. 189
Brassey, Lord, ii. 191
Bridge, Sir John, ii. 79
Billow, Prince, ii. 216
Buxton, Lord, i. 93
Chureliill, Lord Randolph,

i. 230
Cook, Sir E. T., i. 308
Darwin, Charles, i. 55-56
Devonshire, Duke of, i. 39-

40, 47
Farrer, Lord, ii. 83
Foster, Sir M., ii. 125
Frazer, J. G., ii. 146
Gaulois, ii. 126-127
Granville, Lord, i. 136, 1.37
Great Thoughts, ii. 31-32
Harcourt, Sir W., i. 329 ;

ii. 15
Hartland, E. S., ii. 282
Hedeman, Jules, ii. 241-242
Huxley, T. H., i. 118
I^ansdowne, Lord, ii. 217
Law, A. Bonar, ii. 222-223
Lloyd's Weekly, ii. 66-67
Manning, Cardinal, i. 278
Merchants' Guild, Berlin,

ii. 221
Metternich, Count, ii. 249-

250, 251-252
Murray, Douglas, ii. 275
Moral Instruction League,

ii. 226
New York American, ii.

299-300
Norfolk, Duke of, ii. 45
Reid, Andrew, i. 294, 296,

297
Rucker, Professor, ii. 53,

141
St. Aldwyn, Lord, ii. 186-

187
Salisbury, Lord, ii. 118, 149
Sellar, A. Craig, i. 263-204
Stokes, Sir Gabriel, i. 211
Sweden, Bank of, ii. 159
Thompson, Silvanus, ii. 50,

51
Times, The, ii. 2, 107, 302
Lubbock, Sir John William (father),
i. 2, 3, 5, 26, 29, 30, 40, 62 ;
racecourse at High Elms, 64,
66 ; death, 67 ; letter from,
73 ; ii. 270

Lubbock, Lady (mother), i. 7 ;
records of Sir John Lubbock's
childhood, 8, 10, 13, 26, 27 ;
death of, 147

Lubbock, Lady (first wife), i. 34,
35 ; marriage, 42, 61 ; in rail-
way accident, 77-78, 79, 85, 86,
87, 89 ; death of, 165-166

Lubbock, Lady (Lady Aveburv)
(second wife), i. 179, 200, 205 ;
marriage, 206, 217, 218, 261,
309, 331, 336 ; ii. 28, 54, 67, 76,
87, 88, 106, 128, 140, 170, 171,

175, 231, 239, 253, 277, 296,
305, 307, 318, 320

Lubbock, Maurice (son), ii. 131,

176, 239, 280, 283, 298
Lubbock, Dr. Montagu (brother),

i. 177, 178
Lublx)ck, Sir Neville (brother),

i. 177
Lubbock, Norman (son), i. 188,

204 ; ii. 100, 130
Lubbock, Robin (nephew), ii. 101
Lubbock, Rolfe (son), i. 181 ; if.

263 ; death of, 264
Lubbock, Ursula (daughter). See

Duff, Mrs. Adrian Grant
Lubbock, Notes on the History and

Genealogy of the Family of, by

Robert Birkbeck, i. 1
Lyall, Sir Alfred, i. 332
Lyell, Sir C, i. 23, 36 ; letter from,

37, 58, 62, 148
Lytton, Lord, letter from, on the

Declaration of Paris, i. 273-

278
Lyveden, Lord, ii. 232

M'Crea, Rev. J. B., i. 75
Macmillan & Co., Messrs., letter

from, on Indian translation of

Peace and Happiness, ii. 271
MacNeill, Swift, ii. 103
Mallet, C. F., ii. 268
Manchester Free Library, ii. 177-

178
Manning, Cardinal, i. 131, 163;

on early closing movement, 227-

228, 278, 282, 283, 285, 287 ;

letters from, i. 163, 227-228, 272
Margerie, M. de, letters from, ii.

244-243
Marjoribanks, Sir D. C, i. 175
Marriage, Totemism and Religion,

ii. 295
Mason, Sir J., unveils statue of,

i. 218

332 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK

Maxwell, Sir H. E., letter from, on

" Nationalities," i. 257
May, Sir T. E., i. 174
Metaphysical Society, i. 100-102
Metternich, Count, letter from, on

question of armaments, ii. 250-

251
Michels, M., letter from, ii. 126
Miers, Professor H., ii. 237
Military Education, speech on,

i. 103-108
Mill, John Stuart, i. 74
Miller, Dr., i. 108
Millerand, M., ii. 128
Milner, Lord, letters from, on

London Society for the Exten-
sion of University Teacliing,

ii. 37-39
Moral Instruction League, ii. 225-

220
Morier, Sir R., i. 208
Morley, Arnold, i. 183
Morley, Lord, i. 207, 208 ; ii. 121 ;

letter from, 122
Morley, Samuel, i. 129, 194, 195
Morlot, M., i. 50, 98
Mountain-building, an experiment

in, ii. 181-184, 198
Muhlberg, Dr., ii. 55
Mulholland, Mrs. (daughter). See

Van Zandt, Mrs.
Mundella, Rt. Hon. A. J., i. 129
Municipal and National Trading,

ii. 235-230
Municipal Voting Bill, ii. 259

Nansen, Dr., i. 273

Napoleon III., i. 135

" Nationalities of the British

Islands," letter to the Times,

i. 253 et seq.
National Debt, on reduction of,

i. 118-119
News of the fVorld on first Bank

Holiday, i. 122-124
Nineteenth Century, articles in,

ii. 228, 302, 307, 316
Nobel Prize, ii. 104-166
Nobunori Honda, i. 247
Norfolk, Duke of, ii. 44, 45
Norman, George VVarde, i. 60
Norman Philip, i. 20, 27, 109,

205 ; ii. 136, 200
Northbrook, Lord, letters from, on

Indian currency, ii. 99-100
Northcliffe, Lord, ii. 190, 283
Northcote, Sir Stafford. See Id-

desleigh, Lord

Northumberland, Duke of, i. 263 ;

ii. 138
Nubar Pasha, i. 141

O'Connor, T. P., ii. 19

Origin and Metamorphoses of In-
sects, i. 129 ; Darwin on, 130

Origin of Civilisation, i. 115, 239 ;
ii. 281, 295

Origin of Species, i. 49-50

Overstone, Lord, letter from, on
origin of £1 notes, i. 158-159

Owen, Professor, i. 44

Pall Mall Gazette, i. 252
Palmerston, Lord, anecdote of,

i. 311
Paris, Declaration of, i. 274 et seq. ;

article on, ii. 307
Pasteur, M., i. 232
Patents Bill, i. 138
Pater, Walter, i. 248
Peace and Happiness, ii. 239, 256,

271
Pelham, E. H., ii. 212
Pelham, Mrs. (daughter), i. 226 ;

ii. 192, 196, 201, 204 ; marriage

of, 212, 223, 260, 201
Pelham, Rev. Herbert, ii. 319
Percy, Dr., i. 96, 99, 100
Pigorini, Professor, i. 286
Pitt, Miss Alice Fox (afterwards

Lady Lubbock, q.v.)
Playfair, Lord, i. 129
Pleasures of Life, i. 219, 232, 235

et seq., 209, 272, 289 ; ii. 102,

132 ; Indian translations, 193-

194, 200, 207, 271, 300
Plumage, importation of, intro-
duces bill, ii. 259
Polyclinic, the, ii. 112
Prehistoric Times, i. 74, 75, 89, 90 ;

Kingsley on, 91-92, 99, 115, 148,

239, 322 ; ii. 281, 295, 316
Prestwich, Sir Joseph, i. 23 ;

letter from, 38-39, 51, 56; ii.

174
Price, F. G. Hilton, i. 2
Proportional Representation, i.

201, 207, 211 et seq., 217; ii.

233, 256, 262, 276, 297
Public Accounts Committee, i.

250 et seq.
Public Libraries Bill, i. 250
Public School Commission, i. 97,

98
Punch and Sir John Lubbock, i.

199

INDEX

333

Ramsauer, M., i. 86

Rathbone, W., i. 133 ; letter

from, 134
Rawlinson, Sir H., letter from, on

financial arrangements of Baby-
Ionia and Assyria, i. 162-163
Redistribution Bill, i. 207
Red Lion Club, i. 88, 89
Reform Club, i. 312
Reid, Andrew, i. 294 et seq.
Religion and Magic, ii. 146-148,

188-189
Renan, M., i. 232
Rendel, Lord, ii. 197
Ribblesdale, Lord, ii. 179
Ridding, Dr., i. 98
Ripon, Lord, i. 300
Ritchie, Lady, ii. 121 : letters

from, 122, 225
Ritchie, Lord, ii. 151
Rivers, General Lane Fox Pitt,

i. 179, 200, 206
Rivers, Mrs. Pitt, death of, ii. 277
Roosevelt, Theodore, ii. 278, 279
Rosebery, Lord, i. 300, 301, 302 ;

letters from, 321, 324, 326
Royal Literary Fund, ii. 178
Rucker, Professor, ii. 53, 54 ;

letter to on science teaching in

University of London, 141 ct

seq.
Ruskin, John, i. 188 ; letter from,

on the " Shape of Leaves," 224 ;

letter from, 260-261, 262 ; ii.

115, 171
Russell, Rt. Hon. G. W. E., i. 332

St. Aldwyn, Lord, ii. 106, 107 ;
letter from, on Unionist Free
Trade Association, 185-186

St. Andrews University, Chancel-
lorship of, ii. 129 ; rectorship
of, 248-249, 253

St. Hilaire, B., letter from, on
British rule in India, i. 161-162

St. Thomas's Hospital, address at,
i. 335

Salisbury, Lord, i. 274 ; letter
from, 278, 289 ; ii. 27, 28 ; on
The Use of Life, 34 : letter offer-
ing peerage, 118, 128, 133 ; and
Early Closing Movement, 134,
135 ; letter to, 149, 150, 151

Salmon, Sir D., i. 121

Salvesen, Lord, ii. 261

Samuelson, Sir B., i. 108

Say, M. Leon, i. 131

Scenery of England, The, ii. 103,

106, 115, 130, 137, 148, 152

et seq.
Scenery of Switzerland, The, ii. 58,

60 et seq., 155
Schliemann, Dr., letter from, on

excavations in Greece and Asia

Minor, i. 142-145 ; on Trojan

discoveries, 149
Scientific Instruction, Royal Com-
mission on, i. 108
Scott, D. H., letter from, on Dar-
win-Wallace celebration, ii. 257-

258
Sea, private property at, ii. 309-

312
Sears, E. J., report on sobriety on

Bank Holidays, i. 196
Seats for Shop .Assistants Bill,

ii. 114
Seedlings, On, i. 215 ; ii. 1
Selby, Lord, letter from, ii. 124 ;

letter on Scenery of England,

153, 264
Sellar, A. Craig, letter to, i. 263-

264
Senses of Animals, i. 190, 267, 269,

288-289, 293
Sessions, Robert, i. 27
Sharpey, Dr., i. 108
Shop Hours' Amendment Bill, i.

328 et seq.
Shop Hours' Regulation Bill, i.

217, 223, 228
Shopkeepers and Shop Assistants

Bill, i. 133-134
Shuttleworth, Sir A. Kay, i. 108
Simon, M. Jules, letter from, ii.

41-42
Smith, Rev. Alfred Charles, on

purchase of land at Avebury,

i. 132-133 ; on Stonehenge, 194
Smith, Professor H. J., i. 108, 176,

177
Smith, Martin Tucker, i. 121
Smith, Sir Swire, letter from, on

Free Trade speech, ii. 255-256,

268
Smith, Rt. Hon. W. H., i. 129
South African War, ii. 130, 187
Spectator, the, article on Sir M. E.

Grant Duff, ii. 225
Spencer, Herbert, i. 63, 79 ; letter

from, ii. 45, 70 ; letter on the

White Horse, 70; and Nobel

Prize, 164, 165 ; letter from,

166
Spicer, Sir A., ii. 256
Spottiswoode, W., i. 57, 63, 64, 197

334 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK

Stanhope, Lord, i. 167

Stanley of Alderley, Lady, i. 209

Steenstrup, Professor, i. 61

Stewart, Charles, ii. 276

Stokes, Sir Gabriel, i. 83 ; letter
from, on Atlantic cable, 84-85,
108 ; Proportional Representa-
tion, 212 ; letter on Beauties
of Nature, 333-334; letter on
Scenery of England, ii. 155-156

Stonehenge, age of, i. 86-87

Stonehenge, preservation of, ii.
136, 137

Sunday Closing movement, ii. 197,
210, 211-212, 234, 256, 259

Sunday Trading, ii. 227, 230-231

Swansea, Lord, i. 99

Tankerville, Lord, i. 263

Tariff Reform, ii. 191-192, 193,

196, 197
Tauchnitz, Baron, and The Use of

Life, ii. .34
Taylor, Isaac, letter from, on

" Nationalities," i. 259
Tedder, Henry, on Sir John

Lubbock's connexion with the

Athenaeum Club, ii. 166-170
Telephone Bill, letter to the Times,

ii. 107-111
Temple, Archbishop, i. 57, 282
Temple, W. Cowper, i. 129
Theatres Bill, i. 310
Theory of Probabilities, by Sir John

William Lubbock, i. 3
Thompson, Professor Silvanus,

ii. 49, 50, 51
Times, the, on University of

London election, i. 173 ; letters

on Bimetallism, ii. 2-3, 5
Trevelyan, Sir G. O., letters from,

on The Pleasures of Life, i. 248,

249 ; letter on Lord Macaulay,

ii. 180-181, 211
Tricoupi, M., ii. 21
Tupper, Sir Charles, i. 328
Twain, Mark, ii. 240
Tyndall, John, i. 23, 55, 56 ; letter

from, 58, 63, 79, 87, 88 ; at

Mount Vesuvius, 97, 148, 831 ;

death of, ii. 20, 303

University of London, Sir John
Lubbock's election for, i. 169
et seq. ; ii. 125 ; science teach-
ing in, 141 et seq.

University Teaching, London So-
ciety for Extension of, ii. 37-3»

Use of Life, The, ii. 32 et seq.,
68-69, 90, 102, 132, 300, 316

Van Zandt, Mrs. (daughter), i. 46,

158, 166, 197, 199, 205, 325,

326 ; ii. 67
Vaughan, Cardinal, on The Use of

Life, ii. 34
Vesuvius, eruption of, i. 97
Victoria, Queen, death of, ii. 133
Vivian, Sir Arthur, letter from,

on Welsh Coal Trade, ii. 205

Wallace, A. R., on Prehistoric

Times, i. 76, 187 ; letter from,

ii. 258
Waller, Mrs., ii. 117
Waring, Mr., i. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14,

16
Wasmann, Professor, on Senses of

Animals, i. 293-294
Waterlow, Sir Svdney, i. 150, 168
Wede, R. B., i. 309
Welby, Lord, letter from, on

Free Trade speech, ii. 255
Welch, Rev. E. J., ii. 319
Welldon, Bishop, i. 335
Wells, H. G., i. 27
Wells, Joseph, i. 27
West Kent Liberal Association,

their Home Rule resolution,

i. 226
Westminster, Duke of, i. 265
Westminster Hall, i. 208
Wheatstone, Sir Charles, i. 33
Whewell, William, i. 33
Whitbread, Samuel, i. 216
Wibel, Professor, i. 99, 100
Wilberforce, Bishop, i. 50, 57
Wilks, Sir S., i. 170
Wood, F. J., i. 170
Working Men's College, address

to, ii. 6-15
World, the, on' Sir ;John Lubbock,

i. 154-155
Worms, Dr. Ren^, letters from,

ii. 30, 287-288
Wright, Mr. Justice,'!.' 133
Wright, Thomas, i. 83

" X Club," i. 63-64, 303

Zoological Society, ii. 84-86, 98

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