on Scientific Instruction, which continued until 1875.

The three addresses which he gave in the autumn, and his election to
the School Board will be spoken of later; in the first part of the
year he read two papers at the Ethnological Society, of which he was
President, on "The Geographical Distribution of the Chief
Modifications of Mankind," March 9--and on "The Ethnology of Britain,"
May 10--the substance of which appeared in the "Contemporary Review"
for July under the title of "Some Fixed Points in British Ethnology"
("Collected Essays" 7 253). As President also of the Geological
Society and of the British Association, he had two important addresses
to deliver. In addition to this, he delivered an address before the
Y.M.C.A. at Cambridge on "Descartes' Discourse."

How busy he was may be gathered from his refusal of an invitation to
Down:--]

26 Abbey Place, January 21, 1870.

My dear Darwin,

It is hard to resist an invitation of yours--but I dine out on
Saturday; and next week three evenings are abolished by Societies of
one kind or another. And there is that horrid Geological address
looming in the future!

I am afraid I must deny myself at present.

I am glad you liked the sermon. Did you see the "Devonshire man's"
attack in the "Pall Mall?"