Year: 1874

| PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF THE LECTURER-PHTsIs
| CAL EXPLANATION OF VITAL PHENOMENAL
| FROG UTTERLY DEPRIVED OF voLITIoS-A NAN
| IN SOMEWHAT SIMILAR cONDTrIoN-LoGIcAI.
TENDENCY OF TIE DOCTRINE OF AUTOMATIC
THOUGHT


| [FRox THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBUNE
BELFAST, Aug est is thirty-fye minutes past 8.


well-built man in evening dress. rather above tho


average hight rises from his char and steps for


ward to the edge Of the platform by the side Of tho.


desk. He stands quietly during the applause. whics
| gives you time to look at him before he begins to-
| speak 30 dark in complexion as to be almoso


swarhy, the skin quite blue-black where the mus


tache and beard shaven off. Black hair, touched
with gray, worn rather long and falling over the


angle and half side Of the forehead like
Mr. Summers, only on the opposite side The


head well filled out. and with singular expression,
of uOwer not to be hid by the careless sweep Of the


hair, which depresses some of its strongest forms.


The face thin, at once rcsolute and good-humored;
the eyes the most remarkable feature of it dark in


color luminous, so penetrating as to give Won the


notion they might blaze iercely sometimes, but fulf


of kindness. Very self-possessed in manner, with
not trace of self-consciousness. The hands falling


easily by the side. You at he is at home on


a platform. and no way concerned about getting


comfortably through the next hour and half nor





thousand other ndividuaties occupied at this mo-


ment in taking his measure. 1t may be doubted


whether the general of this operation is great


He looks an Inscrutabe sort of man, should ho
choose not to be open. but the main difficulty in


taking his would be in the capacity OF tho
observer not in any purpose Of his to repel the
interest he excites


II is impossible not to be impressed by his indi-
viduaty One meets plenty of men eminent im


science OF politics. OF other things, and rightly yen
who fail 20 come up to ones expectations. They
| have not enough to spare for ordinary occasions
| That is not the here. Force of intellect and


force of character go together aud behind the phil


osopher is the man-large natured, abundant, meet
| ing all men on easy ter ns, scattering with free


hand on all sides. am stating, of course, impress


sions received long before he appeared in front of
| Belfast audience. But 1 don't remember ever tO
| have seen Prof. Huxley in presence of large am


audience, and l am greatly struck with tho
| absolute identity of his manner at such
| time with that he wears In his lecture


room of students In addition to all the most culti-


waited people of a city which calls itself the Athens


of Ireland there is extraordinary turnout of tho


nonresident members of the Association. The cir


cumstances are unusual. The attacks on Prof. Tyn-


dali have been so numerous and violent, both in the
| pulpit aud in the press, that it is supposed Prof
| Huxley may take some notice of them. The subject


of his address is The Hypothesis the Animals are


Automata, and its History" topic into the discus
| sion of which Materialism may readily enter. In


fact the situation is tense that conclusions will


be drawn from his silence as well from free


speech, and nobody who knows Prof Huxley can


doubt which line he will take when that is the case.


He is not the man to leave his opinions to ba


conjectured, when there is any reason for stating


them. Still less is he capable of shrinking from


conflict or holding alOof from the side of c0mrado
| who has been attacked It is possible that Prof.
| Huxley may not have counseled war. and may not
have thought this the best moment to make the
issue which Prof. Tyndall made last Wednesday,
and think wisely made. But 1t was, at most,
question of time Now little later the step had
to be taken and having been taken. but course
was open to men of science, whose position and
| opinions had been, in substance accurately repre-
| sented by Prof Tyndal This, / think, Prof Hux-
| ley felt as strongly as anybody could feel. What
| influence it had upon him will be seen presently
| Prof Tyndalrs introduction of Prof Huxley had
| been of kind to leave the latter perfectly freq
| about his address; to relieve him from embarrass-
| ment had lie felt any; to discharge him, so far as
he could from every kind Of obligation under which
| he might feel to reinforce the President Of the


British Association, and, at the same time, TO add
something to the cordiality of the welcome which


was sure to be given Prof Huxley I'VE agree in


the main" said Prof. Tyndall, ION various matters;
but these conclusions we keep pretty much to our


selves. Each pursues his way independently, 90


that the conclusions good evil, are arrived at by


perfectly independent routes. have not the faint


est idea of what he is going to say to you this even
inc. beyond so much as / might gather from the


title of the lecture. lido not know what his message
70 you will be- bat this do know that it will be-


the message of man loving truth above all things
The opening address Of the President last week


was largely occupied with historical statement OF


the origin and progress of metaphysical and physical
science. In like manner Prof Huxley, though ono


of the most original thinkers of the day, has chosen


TO turn back in search of the fountain and source OF


his scientific belief tracing the foundations OK mod
ern biology in the writings of Descares and taking


his stand as Lord Kenyon used to say in bad Latin,
ON the ancient ways. The concidence-if that be
not an unscientGc term-s remarkable. Prof. Hux-
lev as we'll as Prof Tyndal begins by asking ne TO
turn our minds back to the past to consider what
had been done by the great men of old who had


gone down into the grave with their weapons Of
war; but who had fought bravely for the cause OF
truth while they had yet Gved-to recognize their
merits and to show ourselves duly grateful for their
services. Below is the full text of his address.
THE LECTURE.


I shall 90 no further back than the seven