The life and letters of Herbert Spencer . some fit form is sent to me. The stateof his health probably prevented him complying with therequest to send to Le Matin a message of good will to theFrench on the eve of the Kings visit to Paris ; but a similarrequest, made before M. Loubets visit to London in July,was responded to : All advocates of peace (he wrote)—all w^ho believe thatfuture civilization is bound up with the friendship of nations—will rejoice in the visit to England of a Frenchman whorepresents France ; and I, in common with them, hope thathis reception will prove that the general
The life and letters of Herbert Spencer . some fit form is sent to me. The stateof his health probably prevented him complying with therequest to send to Le Matin a message of good will to theFrench on the eve of the Kings visit to Paris ; but a similarrequest, made before M. Loubets visit to London in July,was responded to : All advocates of peace (he wrote)—all w^ho believe thatfuture civilization is bound up with the friendship of nations—will rejoice in the visit to England of a Frenchman whorepresents France ; and I, in common with them, hope thathis reception will prove that the general feeling in Englandexpresses something more than the official ceremonies of theoccasion. With an effort he roused himself to send a messageof encouragement to the Young Scots Society, w-hichseeks to revive Liberal ideals at a time when Liberal idealshave been forgotten. Most of his acknowledgments of birthday congratula-tions this year included the refrain : I feel now that theprolongation of a feeble old age is not a matter for con-. MR, SPENCERS SITTING-ROOMAND BEDROOM at 5 PercivalTt/racc, BrigJiton. 1902-03] TJic Close of Life 469 gratulation — rather for condolence. All through thewinter he had hardly ever stirred from his room ; andalthough the return of spring brought back thoughts of thecountry, once and only once did he express the hope ofgetting there. He had a strong prejudice against professional nurses(writes Mr. Troughtoii), and it was not until it became abso-lutely necessary that he consented to have one to look afterhim. Feeble and emaciated as his frame now was, he had lostlittle of that strength of will which had alwavs been a markedtrait with him, and both nurses and doctors found him a byno means easy patient to deal with owing to this. Xo lessemphatic was the assertion of scepticism in regard to thetreatment ordered by the doctor. He could not put himselfentirely in the hands of another ; he wanted to know thereason for this, that, or the other, mode
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