ification of Insects" (1839).) before I was on the
Council, and ever thought on the subject of medals. I fear my remarks
are rather lengthy, but to do him justice I could not well shorten them.
Pray tell me frankly whether the enclosed is the right sort of thing,
for though I was once on the Council of the Royal, I never attended any
meetings, owing to bad health.

With respect to the Copley medal (39/3. The Copley Medal was given to
Lyell in 1858.), I have a strong feeling that Lyell has a high claim,
but as he has had the Royal Medal I presume that it would be thought
objectionable to propose him; and as I intend (you not objecting and
converting me) to propose W. for the Royal, it would, of course, appear
intolerably presumptuous to propose for the Copley also.

LETTER 40. TO T.H. HUXLEY. Down, June 10th, 1855.

Shall you attend the Council of the Royal Society on Thursday next? I
have not been very well of late, and I doubt whether I can attend; and
if I could do anything (pray conceal the scandalous fact), I want to
go to the Crystal Palace to meet the Horners, Lyells, and a party. So I
want to know whether you will speak for me most strongly for Barrande.
You know better than I do his admirable labours on the development of
trilobites, and his most important work on his Lower or Primordial Zone.
I enclose an old note of Lyell's to show what he thinks. With respect to
Dana, whom I also proposed, you know well his merits. I can speak most
highly of his classificatory work on crustacea and his Geographical
Distribution. His Volcanic Geology is admirable, and he has done much
good work on coral reefs.

If you attend, do not answer this; but if you cannot be at the Council,
please inform me, and I suppose I must, if I can, attend.

Thank you for your abstract of your lecture at the Royal Institution,
which interested me much, and rather grieved me, for I had hoped things
had been in a slight degree otherwise. (40/1. "On certain Zoological
Arguments commonly adduced in favour of the hypothesis of the
Progressive Development of Animal Life," Discourse, Friday, April 20,
1855: "Proceedings R.I." (1855). Published also in "Huxley's Scientific
Memoirs." The lecturer dwelt chiefly on the argument of Agassiz, which
he summarises as follows: "Homocercal fishes have in their embryonic
state heterocercal tails; therefore heterocercality is, so far, a mark
of an embryonic state as compared with homocercality, and the earlie