hands for factories. He was on the Board as a friend of children. What
he sought to do for the child was for the child's sake, that it might
live a fuller, truer, worthier life."

The immense amount of work which Huxley did in these years told very
seriously on his naturally weak constitution. It became necessary for
him finally for two successive years to stop work altogether. In 1872
he went to the Mediterranean and to Egypt. This was a holiday full of
interest for a man like Huxley who looked upon the history of the world
and man's place in the world with a keen scientific mind. Added to this
scientific bent of mind, moreover, Huxley had a deep appreciation for
the picturesque in nature and life. Bits of description indicate
his enjoyment in this vacation. He writes of his entrance to the
Mediterranean, "It was a lovely morning, and nothing could be grander
than Ape Hill on one side and the Rock on the other, looking like great
lions or sphinxes on each side of a gateway." In Cairo, Huxley found
much to interest him in archaeology, geology, and the every-day life of
the streets. At the end of a month, he writes that he is very well and
very grateful to Old Nile for all that he has done for him, not the
least "for a whole universe of new thoughts and pictures of life." The
trip, however, did no lasting good. In 1873 Huxley was again very ill,
but was under such heavy costs at this time that another vacation was
impossible. At this moment, a critical one in his life, some of his
close scientific friends placed to his credit twenty-one hundred pounds
to enable him to take the much needed rest. Darwin wrote to Huxley
concerning the gift: "In doing this we are convinced that we act for the
public interest." He assured Huxley that the friends who gave this felt
toward him as a brother. "I am sure that you will return this feeling
and will therefore be glad to give us the opportunity of aiding you in
some degree, as this will be a happiness to us to the last day of