Heusedtosaythatitgrievedhimtofindthatforthefriendsofhislaterlifehehadnotthewarmaffectionofhisyouth。CertainlyinhisearlylettersfromCambridgehegivesproofsofverystrongfriendshipforHerbertandFox;butnooneexcepthimselfwouldhavesaidthathisaffectionforhisfriendswasnot，throughoutlife，ofthewarmestpossiblekind。Inservingafriendhewouldnotsparehimself，andprecioustimeandstrengthwerewillinglygiven。Heundoubtedlyhad，toanunusualdegree，thepowerofattachinghisfriendstohim。Hehadmanywarmfriendships，buttoSirJosephHookerhewasboundbytiesofaffectionstrongerthanweoftenseeamongmen。Hewroteinhis’Recollections，’\"I
haveknownhardlyanymanmorelovablethanHooker。\"
Hisrelationshiptothevillagepeoplewasapleasantone;hetreatedthem，oneandall，withcourtesy，whenhecameincontactwiththem，andtookaninterestinallrelatingtotheirwelfare。SometimeafterhecametoliveatDownhehelpedtofoundaFriendlyClub，andservedastreasurerforthirtyyears。Hetookmuchtroubleabouttheclub，keepingitsaccountswithminuteandscrupulousexactness，andtakingpleasureinitsprosperouscondition。EveryWhit—Mondaytheclubusedtomarchroundwithbandandbanner，andparadedonthelawninfrontofthehouse。Therehemetthem，andexplainedtothemtheirfinancialpositioninalittlespeechseasonedwithafewwellwornjokes。Hewasoftenunwellenoughtomakeeventhislittleceremonyanexertion，butIthinkheneverfailedtomeetthem。
HewasalsotreasureroftheCoalClub，whichgavehimsomework，andheactedforsomeyearsasaCountyMagistrate。
Withregardtomyfather’sinterestintheaffairsofthevillage，Mr。
BrodieInneshasbeensogoodastogivemehisrecollections:——
\"OnmybecomingVicarofDownin1846，webecamefriends，andsocontinuedtillhisdeath。Hisconducttowardsmeandmyfamilywasoneofunvaryingkindness，andwerepaiditbywarmaffection。
\"Inallparishmattershewasanactiveassistant;inmattersconnectedwiththeschools，charities，andotherbusiness，hisliberalcontributionwaseverready，andinthedifferenceswhichattimesoccurredinthat，asinotherparishes，Iwasalwayssureofhissupport。Heheldthatwheretherewasreallynoimportantobjection，hisassistanceshouldbegiventotheclergyman，whooughttoknowthecircumstancesbest，andwaschieflyresponsible。\"
Hisintercoursewithstrangerswasmarkedwithscrupulousandratherformalpoliteness，butinfacthehadfewopportunitiesofmeetingstrangers。
Dr。Lanehasdescribed（LecturebyDr。B。W。Richardson，inSt。George’sHall，October22，1882。）how，ontherareoccasionofmyfatherattendingalecture（Dr。Sanderson’s）attheRoyalInstitution，\"thewholeassembly……rosetotheirfeettowelcomehim，\"whileheseemed\"scarcelyconsciousthatsuchanoutburstofapplausecouldpossiblybeintendedforhimself。\"ThequietlifeheledatDownmadehimfeelconfusedinalargesociety;forinstance，attheRoyalSociety’ssoireeshefeltoppressedbythenumbers。Thefeelingthatheoughttoknowpeople，andthedifficultyhehadinrememberingfacesinhislatteryears，alsoaddedtohisdiscomfortonsuchoccasions。Hedidnotrealisethathewouldberecognisedfromhisphotographs，andIrememberhisbeinguneasyatbeingobviouslyrecognisedbyastrangerattheCrystalPalaceAquarium。
Imustsaysomethingofhismannerofworking:onecharacteristicofitwashisrespectfortime;heneverforgothowpreciousitwas。Thiswasshown，forinstance，inthewayinwhichhetriedtocurtailhisholidays;
also，andmoreclearly，withrespecttoshorterperiods。Hewouldoftensay，thatsavingtheminuteswasthewaytogetworkdone;heshowedhisloveofsavingtheminutesinthedifferencehefeltbetweenaquarterofanhourandtenminutes’work;heneverwastedafewspareminutesfromthinkingthatitwasnotworthwhiletosettowork。Iwasoftenstruckbyhiswayofworkinguptotheverylimitofhisstrength，sothathesuddenlystoppedindictating，withthewords，\"IbelieveImustn’tdoanymore。\"Thesameeagerdesirenottolosetimewasseeninhisquickmovementswhenatwork。Iparticularlyremembernoticingthiswhenhewasmakinganexperimentontherootsofbeans，whichrequiredsomecareinmanipulation;fasteningthelittlebitsofcardupontherootswasdonecarefullyandnecessarilyslowly，buttheintermediatemovementswereallquick;takingafreshbean，seeingthattherootwashealthy，impalingitonapin，fixingitonacork，andseeingthatitwasvertical，etc;alltheseprocesseswereperformedwithakindofrestrainedeagerness。Healwaysgaveonetheimpressionofworkingwithpleasure，andnotwithanydrag。Ihaveanimage，too，ofhimasherecordedtheresultofsomeexperiment，lookingeagerlyateachroot，etc。，andthenwritingwithequaleagerness。Irememberthequickmovementofhisheadupanddownashelookedfromtheobjecttothenotes。
Hesavedagreatdealoftimethroughnothavingtodothingstwice。
Althoughhewouldpatientlygoonrepeatingexperimentswheretherewasanygoodtobegained，hecouldnotendurehavingtorepeatanexperimentwhichought，ifcompletecarehadbeentaken，tohavesucceededthefirsttime——
andthisgavehimacontinualanxietythattheexperimentshouldnotbewasted;hefelttheexperimenttobesacred，howeverslightaoneitwas。
Hewishedtolearnasmuchaspossiblefromanexperiment，sothathedidnotconfinehimselftoobservingthesinglepointtowhichtheexperimentwasdirected，andhispowerofseeinganumberofotherthingswaswonderful。Idonotthinkhecaredforpreliminaryorroughobservationintendedtoserveasguidesandtoberepeated。Anyexperimentdonewastobeofsomeuse，andinthisconnectionIrememberhowstronglyheurgedthenecessityofkeepingthenotesofexperimentswhichfailed，andtothisrulehealwaysadhered。
Intheliterarypartofhisworkhehadthesamehorroroflosingtime，andthesamezealinwhathewasdoingatthemoment，andthismadehimcarefulnottobeobligedunnecessarilytoreadanythingasecondtime。
Hisnaturaltendencywastousesimplemethodsandfewinstruments。Theuseofthecompoundmicroscopehasmuchincreasedsincehisyouth，andthisattheexpenseofthesimpleone。Itstrikesusnowadaysasextraordinarythatheshouldhavehadnocompoundmicroscopewhenhewenthis\"Beagle\"
voyage;butinthishefollowedtheadviceofRobt。Brown，whowasanauthorityinsuchmatters。Healwayshadagreatlikingforthesimplemicroscope，andmaintainedthatnowadaysitwastoomuchneglected，andthatoneoughtalwaystoseeasmuchaspossiblewiththesimplebeforetakingtothecompoundmicroscope。Inoneofhislettershespeaksonthispoint，andremarksthathealwayssuspectstheworkofamanwhoneverusesthesimplemicroscope。
Hisdissectingtablewasathickboard，letintoawindowofthestudy;itwaslowerthananordinarytable，sothathecouldnothaveworkedatitstanding;butthis，fromwishingtosavehisstrength，hewouldnothavedoneinanycase。Hesatathisdissecting—tableonacuriouslowstoolwhichhadbelongedtohisfather，withaseatrevolvingonaverticalspindle，andmountedonlargecastors，sothathecouldturneasilyfromsidetoside。Hisordinarytools，etc。，werelyingaboutonthetable，butbesidestheseanumberofoddsandendswerekeptinaroundtablefullofradiatingdrawers，andturningonaverticalaxis，whichstoodclosebyhisleftside，ashesatathismicroscope—table。Thedrawerswerelabelled，\"besttools，\"\"roughtools，\"\"specimens，\"\"preparationsforspecimens，\"
etc。Themostmarkedpeculiarityofthecontentsofthesedrawerswasthecarewithwhichlittlescrapsandalmostuselessthingswerepreserved;heheldthewell—knownbelief，thatifyouthrewathingawayyouweresuretowantitdirectly——andsothingsaccumulated。
Ifanyonehadlookedathistools，etc。，lyingonthetable，hewouldhavebeenstruckbyanairofsimpleness，make—shift，andoddness。
Athisrighthandwereshelves，withanumberofotheroddsandends，glasses，saucers，tinbiscuitboxesforgerminatingseeds，zinclabels，saucersfullofsand，etc。，etc。Consideringhowtidyandmethodicalhewasinessentialthings，itiscuriousthatheborewithsomanymake—
shifts:forinstance，insteadofhavingaboxmadeofadesiredshape，andstainedblackinside，hewouldhuntupsomethinglikewhathewantedandgetitdarkenedinsidewithshoe—blacking;hedidnotcaretohaveglasscoversmadefortumblersinwhichhegerminatedseeds，butusedbrokenbitsofirregularshape，withperhapsanarrowanglestickinguselesslyoutononeside。Butsomuchofhisexperimentingwasofasimplekind，thathehadnoneedforanyelaboration，andIthinkhishabitinthisrespectwasingreatmeasureduetohisdesiretohusbandhisstrength，andnotwasteitoninessentialthings。
Hiswayofmarkingobjectsmayherebementioned。Ifhehadanumberofthingstodistinguish，suchasleaves，flowers，etc。，hetiedthreadsofdifferentcoloursroundthem。Inparticularheusedthismethodwhenhehadonlytwoclassesofobjectstodistinguish;thusinthecaseofcrossedandself—fertilisedflowers，onesetwouldbemarkedwithblackandonewithwhitethread，tiedroundthestalkoftheflower。Irememberwellthelookoftwosetsofcapsules，gatheredandwaitingtobeweighed，counted，etc。，withpiecesofblackandofwhitethreadtodistinguishthetraysinwhichtheylay。Whenhehadtocomparetwosetsofseedlings，sowedinthesamepot，heseparatedthembyapartitionofzinc—plate;andthezinclabel，whichgavethenecessarydetailsabouttheexperiment，wasalwaysplacedonacertainside，sothatitbecameinstinctivewithhimtoknowwithoutreadingthelabelwhichwerethe\"crossed\"andwhichwerethe\"self—fertilised。\"
Hisloveofeachparticularexperiment，andhiseagerzealnottolosethefruitofit，cameoutmarkedlyinthesecrossingexperiments——intheelaboratecarehetooknottomakeanyconfusioninputtingcapsulesintowrongtrays，etc。，etc。Icanrecallhisappearanceashecountedseedsunderthesimplemicroscopewithanalertnessnotusuallycharacterisingsuchmechanicalworkascounting。Ithinkhepersonifiedeachseedasasmalldemontryingtoeludehimbygettingintothewrongheap，orjumpingawayaltogether;andthisgavetotheworktheexcitementofagame。Hehadgreatfaithininstruments，andIdonotthinkitnaturallyoccurredtohimtodoubttheaccuracyofascaleormeasuringglass，etc。Hewasastonishedwhenwefoundthatoneofhismicrometersdifferedfromtheother。Hedidnotrequireanygreataccuracyinmostofhismeasurements，andhadnotgoodscales;hehadanoldthree—footrule，whichwasthecommonpropertyofthehousehold，andwasconstantlybeingborrowed，becauseitwastheonlyonewhichwascertaintobeinitsplace——unless，indeed，thelastborrowerhadforgottentoputitback。Formeasuringtheheightofplantshehadaseven—footdealrod，graduatedbythevillagecarpenter。Latterlyhetooktousingpaperscalesgraduatedtomillimeters。Forsmallobjectsheusedapairofcompassesandanivoryprotractor。Itwascharacteristicofhimthathetookscrupulouspainsinmakingmeasurementswithhissomewhatroughscales。Atriflingexampleofhisfaithinauthorityisthathetookhis\"inchintermsofmillimeters\"
fromanoldbook，inwhichitturnedouttobeinaccuratelygiven。HehadachemicalbalancewhichdatedfromthedayswhenheworkedatchemistrywithhisbrotherErasmus。Measurementsofcapacityweremadewithanapothecary’smeasuringglass:Irememberwellitsroughlookandbadgraduation。Withthis，too，Irememberthegreatcarehetookingettingthefluid—lineontothegraduation。Idonotmeanbythisaccountofhisinstrumentsthatanyofhisexperimentssufferedfromwantofaccuracyinmeasurement，Igivethemasexamplesofhissimplemethodsandfaithinothers——faithatleastininstrument—makers，whosewholetradewasamysterytohim。
Afewofhismentalcharacteristics，bearingespeciallyonhismodeofworking，occurtome。Therewasonequalityofmindwhichseemedtobeofspecialandextremeadvantageinleadinghimtomakediscoveries。Itwasthepowerofneverlettingexceptionspassunnoticed。Everybodynoticesafactasanexceptionwhenitisstrikingorfrequent，buthehadaspecialinstinctforarrestinganexception。Apointapparentlyslightandunconnectedwithhispresentworkispassedoverbymanyamanalmostunconsciouslywithsomehalf—consideredexplanation，whichisinfactnoexplanation。Itwasjustthesethingsthatheseizedontomakeastartfrom。Inacertainsensethereisnothingspecialinthisprocedure，manydiscoveriesbeingmadebymeansofit。Ionlymentionitbecause，asI
watchedhimatwork，thevalueofthispowertoanexperimenterwassostronglyimpresseduponme。
Anotherqualitywhichwasshowninhisexperimentalworkswashispowerofstickingtoasubject;heusedalmosttoapologiseforhispatience，sayingthathecouldnotbeartobebeaten，asifthiswereratherasignofweaknessonhispart。Heoftenquotedthesaying，\"It’sdoggedasdoesit;\"andIthinkdoggednessexpresseshisframeofmindalmostbetterthanperseverance。Perseveranceseemshardlytoexpresshisalmostfiercedesiretoforcethetruthtorevealitself。Heoftensaidthatitwasimportantthatamanshouldknowtherightpointatwhichtogiveupaninquiry。AndIthinkitwashistendencytopassthispointthatinclinedhimtoapologiseforhisperseverance，andgavetheairofdoggednesstohiswork。
Heoftensaidthatnoonecouldbeagoodobserverunlesshewasanactivetheoriser。ThisbringsmebacktowhatIsaidabouthisinstinctforarrestingexceptions:itwasasthoughhewerechargedwiththeorisingpowerreadytoflowintoanychannelontheslightestdisturbance，sothatnofact，howeversmall，couldavoidreleasingastreamoftheory，andthusthefactbecamemagnifiedintoimportance。Inthiswayitnaturallyhappenedthatmanyuntenabletheoriesoccurredtohim;butfortunatelyhisrichnessofimaginationwasequalledbyhispowerofjudgingandcondemningthethoughtsthatoccurredtohim。Hewasjusttohistheories，anddidnotcondemnthemunheard;andsoithappenedthathewaswillingtotestwhatwouldseemtomostpeoplenotatallworthtesting。Theseratherwildtrialshecalled\"fool’sexperiments，\"andenjoyedextremely。AsanexampleImaymentionthatfindingthecotyledonsofBiophytumtobehighlysensitivetovibrationsofthetable，hefanciedthattheymightperceivethevibrationsofsound，andthereforemademeplaymybassoonclosetoaplant。（Thisisnotsomuchanexampleofsuperabundanttheorisingfromasmallcause，butonlyofhiswishtotestthemostimprobableideas。）
Theloveofexperimentwasverystronginhim，andIcanrememberthewayhewouldsay，\"Ishan’tbeeasytillIhavetriedit，\"asifanoutsideforceweredrivinghim。Heenjoyedexperimentingmuchmorethanworkwhichonlyentailedreasoning，andwhenhewasengagedononeofhisbookswhichrequiredargumentandthemarshallingoffacts，hefeltexperimentalworktobearestorholiday。Thus，whileworkinguponthe’VariationsofAnimalsandPlants，’in1860—61，hemadeoutthefertilisationofOrchids，andthoughthimselfidleforgivingsomuchtimetothem。Itisinterestingtothinkthatsoimportantapieceofresearchshouldhavebeenundertakenandlargelyworkedoutasapastimeinplaceofmoreseriouswork。TheletterstoHookerofthisperiodcontainexpressionssuchas，\"Godforgivemeforbeingsoidle;Iamquitesillilyinterestedinthiswork。\"Theintensepleasurehetookinunderstandingtheadaptationsforfertilisationisstronglyshownintheseletters。HespeaksinoneofhislettersofhisintentionofworkingatDroseraasarestfromthe’DescentofMan。’Hehasdescribedinhis’Recollections’thestrongsatisfactionhefeltinsolvingtheproblemofheterostylism。AndIhaveheardhimmentionthattheGeologyofSouthAmericagavehimalmostmorepleasurethananythingelse。Itwasperhapsthisdelightinworkrequiringkeenobservationthatmadehimvaluepraisegiventohisobservingpowersalmostmorethanappreciationofhisotherqualities。
Forbookshehadnorespect，butmerelyconsideredthemastoolstobeworkedwith。Thushedidnotbindthem，andevenwhenapaperbookfelltopiecesfromuse，ashappenedtoMuller’s’Befruchtung，’hepreserveditfromcompletedissolutionbyputtingametalclipoveritsback。Inthesamewayhewouldcutaheavybookinhalf，tomakeitmoreconvenienttohold。HeusedtoboastthathemadeLyellpublishthesecondeditionofoneofhisbooksintwovolumesinsteadofone，bytellinghimhowhehadbeenobligedtocutitinhalf。Pamphletswereoftentreatedevenmoreseverelythanbooks，forhewouldtearout，forthesakeofsavingroom，allthepagesexcepttheonethatinterestedhim。Theconsequenceofallthiswas，thathislibrarywasnotornamental，butwasstrikingfrombeingsoevidentlyaworkingcollectionofbooks。
Hewasmethodicalinhismannerofreadingbooksandpamphletsbearingonhisownwork。Hehadoneshelfonwhichwerepiledupthebookshehadnotyetread，andanothertowhichtheyweretransferredafterhavingbeenread，andbeforebeingcatalogued。Hewouldoftengroanoverhisunreadbooks，becausethereweresomanywhichheknewheshouldneverread。Manyabookwasatoncetransferredtotheotherheap，eithermarkedwithacypherattheend，toshowthatitcontainednomarkedpassages，orinscribed，perhaps，\"notread，\"or\"onlyskimmed。\"Thebooksaccumulatedinthe\"read\"heapuntiltheshelvesoverflowed，andthen，withmuchlamenting，adaywasgivenuptothecataloguing。Hedislikedthiswork，andasthenecessityofundertakingtheworkbecameimperative，wouldoftensay，inavoiceofdespair，\"Wereallymustdothesebookssoon。\"
Ineachbook，ashereadit，hemarkedpassagesbearingonhiswork。Inreadingabookorpamphlet，etc。，hemadepencil—linesatthesideofthepage，oftenaddingshortremarks，andattheendmadealistofthepagesmarked。Whenitwastobecataloguedandputaway，themarkedpageswerelookedat，andsoaroughabstractofthebookwasmade。Thisabstractwouldperhapsbewrittenunderthreeorfourheadingsondifferentsheets，thefactsbeingsortedoutandaddedtothepreviouslycollectedfactsindifferentsubjects。Hehadothersetsofabstractsarranged，notaccordingtosubject，butaccordingtoperiodical。Whencollectingfactsonalargescale，inearlieryears，heusedtoreadthrough，andmakeabstracts，inthisway，ofwholeseriesofperiodicals。
Insomeofhisearlylettershespeaksoffillingseveralnote—bookswithfactsforhisbookonspecies;butitwascertainlyearlythatheadoptedhisplanofusingportfoliosasdescribedinthe’Recollections。’（Theracksonwhichtheportfolioswereplacedareshownintheillustration，\"TheStudyatDown，\"intherecessattheright—handsideofthefire—
place。）MyfatherandM。deCandolleweremutuallypleasedtodiscoverthattheyhadadoptedthesameplanofclassifyingfacts。DeCandolledescribesthemethodinhis’Phytologie，’andinhissketchofmyfathermentionsthesatisfactionhefeltinseeingitinactionatDown。
Besidestheseportfolios，ofwhichtherearesomedozensfullofnotes，therearelargebundlesofMS。marked\"used\"andputaway。Hefeltthevalueofhisnotes，andhadahorroroftheirdestructionbyfire。I
remember，whensomealarmoffirehadhappened，hisbeggingmetobeespeciallycareful，addingveryearnestly，thattherestofhislifewouldbemiserableifhisnotesandbooksweretobedestroyed。
Heshowsthesamefeelinginwritingaboutthelossofamanuscript，thepurportofhiswordsbeing，\"Ihaveacopy，orthelosswouldhavekilledme。\"Inwritingabookhewouldspendmuchtimeandlabourinmakingaskeletonorplanofthewhole，andinenlargingandsub—classingeachheading，asdescribedinhis’Recollections。’Ithinkthiscarefularrangementoftheplanwasnotatallessentialtothebuildingupofhisargument，butforitspresentment，andforthearrangementofhisfacts。
Inhis’LifeofErasmusDarwin，’asitwasfirstprintedinslips，thegrowthofthebookfromaskeletonwasplainlyvisible。Thearrangementwasalteredafterwards，becauseitwastooformalandcategorical，andseemedtogivethecharacterofhisgrandfatherratherbymeansofalistofqualitiesthanasacompletepicture。
Itwasonlywithinthelastfewyearsthatheadoptedaplanofwritingwhichhewasconvincedsuitedhimbest，andwhichisdescribedinthe’Recollections;’namely，writingaroughcopystraightoffwithouttheslightestattentiontostyle。Itwascharacteristicofhimthathefeltunabletowritewithsufficientwantofcareifheusedhisbestpaper，andthusitwasthathewroteonthebacksofoldproofsormanuscript。Theroughcopywasthenreconsidered，andafaircopywasmade。Forthispurposehehadfoolscappaperruledatwideintervals，thelinesbeingneededtopreventhimwritingsocloselythatcorrectionbecamedifficult。
Thefaircopywasthencorrected，andwasrecopiedbeforebeingsenttotheprinters。ThecopyingwasdonebyMr。E。Norman，whobeganthisworkmanyyearsagowhenvillageschoolmasteratDown。MyfatherbecamesousedtoMr。Norman’shand—writing，thathecouldnotcorrectmanuscript，evenwhenclearlywrittenoutbyoneofhischildren，untilithadbeenrecopiedbyMr。Norman。TheMS。，onreturningfromMr。Normanwasoncemorecorrected，andthensentofftotheprinters。Thencametheworkofrevisingandcorrectingtheproofs，whichmyfatherfoundespeciallywearisome。
Itwasatthisstagethathefirstseriouslyconsideredthestyleofwhathehadwritten。Whenthiswasgoingonheusuallystartedsomeotherpieceofworkasarelief。Thecorrectionofslipsconsistedinfactoftwoprocesses，forthecorrectionswerefirstwritteninpencil，andthenre—
consideredandwritteninink。
Whenthebookwaspassingthroughthe\"slip\"stagehewasgladtohavecorrectionsandsuggestionsfromothers。Thusmymotherlookedovertheproofsofthe’Origin。’Insomeofthelaterworksmysister，Mrs。
Litchfield，didmuchofthecorrection。Aftermysister’smarriageperhapsmostoftheworkfelltomyshare。
Mysister，Mrs。Litchfield，writes:——
\"Thisworkwasveryinterestinginitself，anditwasinexpressiblyexhilaratingtoworkforhim。Hewasalwayssoreadytobeconvincedthatanysuggestedalterationwasanimprovement，andsofullofgratitudeforthetroubletaken。IdonotthinkthatheeverusedtoforgettotellmewhatimprovementhethoughtthatIhadmade，andheusedalmosttoexcusehimselfifhedidnotagreewithanycorrection。IthinkIfeltthesingularmodestyandgraciousnessofhisnaturethroughthusworkingforhiminawayInevershouldotherwisehavedone。
\"Hedidnotwritewithease，andwasapttoinverthissentencesbothinwritingandspeaking，puttingthequalifyingclausebeforeitwasclearwhatitwastoqualify。Hecorrectedagreatdeal，andwaseagertoexpresshimselfaswellashepossiblycould。\"
Perhapsthecommonestcorrectionsneededwereofobscuritiesduetotheomissionofanecessarylinkinthereasoning，somethingwhichhehadevidentlyomittedthroughfamiliaritywiththesubject。Notthattherewasanyfaultinthesequenceofthethoughts，butthatfromfamiliaritywithhisargumenthedidnotnoticewhenthewordsfailedtoreproducehisthought。Healsofrequentlyputtoomuchmatterintoonesentence，sothatithadtobecutupintotwo。
Onthewhole，Ithinkthepainswhichmyfathertookovertheliterarypartoftheworkwasveryremarkable。HeoftenlaughedorgrumbledathimselfforthedifficultywhichhefoundinwritingEnglish，saying，forinstance，thatifabadarrangementofasentencewaspossible，heshouldbesuretoadoptit。Heoncegotmuchamusementandsatisfactionoutofthedifficultywhichoneofthefamilyfoundinwritingashortcircular。Hehadthepleasureofcorrectingandlaughingatobscurities，involvedsentences，andotherdefects，andthustookhisrevengeforallthecriticismhehadhimselftobearwith。HeusedtoquotewithastonishmentMissMartineau’sadvicetoyoungauthors，towritestraightoffandsendtheMS。totheprinterwithoutcorrection。Butinsomecasesheactedinasomewhatsimilarmanner。Whenasentencegothopelesslyinvolved，hewouldaskhimself，\"nowwhatDOyouwanttosay？\"andhisanswerwrittendown，wouldoftendisentangletheconfusion。
Hisstylehasbeenmuchpraised;ontheotherhand，atleastonegoodjudgehasremarkedtomethatitisnotagoodstyle。Itis，aboveallthings，directandclear;anditischaracteristicofhimselfinitssimplicity，borderingonnaivete，andinitsabsenceofpretence。HehadthestrongestdisbeliefinthecommonideathataclassicalscholarmustwritegoodEnglish;indeed，hethoughtthatthecontrarywasthecase。Inwriting，hesometimesshowedthesametendencytostrongexpressionsashedidinconversation。Thusinthe’Origin，’page440，thereisadescriptionofalarvalcirripede，\"withsixpairsofbeautifullyconstructednatatorylegs，apairofmagnificentcompoundeyes，andextremelycomplexantennae。\"Weusedtolaughathimforthissentence，whichwecomparedtoanadvertisement。Thistendencytogivehimselfuptotheenthusiasticturnofhisthought，withoutfearofbeingludicrous，appearselsewhereinhiswritings。
Hiscourteousandconciliatorytonetowardshisreaderisremarkable，anditmustbepartlythisqualitywhichrevealedhispersonalsweetnessofcharactertosomanywhohadneverseenhim。Ihavealwaysfeltittobeacuriousfact，thathewhohadalteredthefaceofBiologicalScience，andisinthisrespectthechiefofthemoderns，shouldhavewrittenandworkedinsoessentiallyanon—modernspiritandmanner。Inreadinghisbooksoneisremindedoftheoldernaturalistsratherthanofthemodernschoolofwriters。HewasaNaturalistintheoldsenseoftheword，thatis，amanwhoworksatmanybranchesofthescience，notmerelyaspecialistinone。
Thusitis，that，thoughhefoundedwholenewdivisionsofspecialsubjects——suchasthefertilisationofflowers，insectivorousplants，dimorphism，etc。——yetevenintreatingtheseverysubjectshedoesnotstrikethereaderasaspecialist。Thereaderfeelslikeafriendwhoisbeingtalkedtobyacourteousgentleman，notlikeapupilbeinglecturedbyaprofessor。Thetoneofsuchabookasthe’Origin’ischarming，andalmostpathetic;itisthetoneofamanwho，convincedofthetruthofhisownviews，hardlyexpectstoconvinceothers;itisjustthereverseofthestyleofafanatic，whowantstoforcepeopletobelieve。Thereaderisneverscornedforanyamountofdoubtwhichhemaybeimaginedtofeel，andhisscepticismistreatedwithpatientrespect。Ascepticalreader，orperhapsevenanunreasonablereader，seemstohavebeengenerallypresenttohisthoughts。Itwasinconsequenceofthisfeeling，perhaps，thathetookmuchtroubleoverpointswhichheimaginedwouldstrikethereader，orsavehimtrouble，andsotempthimtoread。
Forthesamereasonhetookmuchinterestintheillustrationsofhisbooks，andIthinkratedrathertoohighlytheirvalue。Theillustrationsforhisearlierbooksweredrawnbyprofessionalartists。Thiswasthecasein’AnimalsandPlants，’the’DescentofMan，’andthe’ExpressionoftheEmotions。’Ontheotherhand，’ClimbingPlants，’’InsectivorousPlants，’the’MovementsofPlants，’and’FormsofFlowers，’were，toalargeextent，illustratedbysomeofhischildren——mybrotherGeorgehavingdrawnbyfarthemost。Itwasdelightfultodrawforhim，ashewasenthusiasticinhispraiseofverymoderateperformances。Irememberwellhischarmingmannerofreceivingthedrawingsofoneofhisdaughters—in—
law，andhowhewouldfinishhiswordsofpraisebysaying，\"TellA——，MichaelAngeloisnothingtoit。\"Thoughhepraisedsogenerously，healwayslookedcloselyatthedrawing，andeasilydetectedmistakesorcarelessness。
Hehadahorrorofbeinglengthy，andseemstohavebeenreallymuchannoyedanddistressedwhenhefoundhowthe’VariationsofAnimalsandPlants’wasgrowingunderhishands。Irememberhiscordiallyagreeingwith’TristramShandy’s’words，\"Letnomansay，’Come，I’llwriteaduodecimo。’\"
Hisconsiderationforotherauthorswasasmarkedacharacteristicashistonetowardshisreader。Hespeaksofallotherauthorsaspersonsdeservingofrespect。Incaseswhere，asinthecaseof——’sexperimentsonDrosera，hethoughtlightlyoftheauthor，hespeaksofhiminsuchawaythatnoonewouldsuspectit。Inothercaseshetreatstheconfusedwritingsofignorantpersonsasthoughthefaultlaywithhimselffornotappreciatingorunderstandingthem。Besidesthisgeneraltoneofrespect，hehadapleasantwayofexpressinghisopiniononthevalueofaquotedwork，orhisobligationforapieceofprivateinformation。
Hisrespectfulfeelingwasnotonlymorallybeautiful，butwasIthinkofpracticaluseinmakinghimreadytoconsidertheideasandobservationsofallmannerofpeople。Heusedalmosttoapologiseforthis，andwouldsaythathewasatfirstinclinedtorateeverythingtoohighly。
Itwasagreatmeritinhismindthat，inspiteofhavingsostrongarespectfulfeelingtowardswhatheread，hehadthekeenestofinstinctsastowhetheramanwastrustworthyornot。Heseemedtoformaverydefiniteopinionastotheaccuracyofthemenwhosebooksheread;andmadeuseofthisjudgmentinhischoiceoffactsforuseinargumentorasillustrations。Igainedtheimpressionthathefeltthispowerofjudgingofaman’strustworthinesstobeofmuchvalue。
Hehadakeenfeelingofthesenseofhonourthatoughttoreignamongauthors，andhadahorrorofanykindoflaxnessinquoting。Hehadacontemptfortheloveofhonourandglory，andinhislettersoftenblameshimselfforthepleasurehetookinthesuccessofhisbooks，asthoughheweredepartingfromhisideal——aloveoftruthandcarelessnessaboutfame。
Often，whenwritingtoSirJ。Hookerwhathecallsaboastingletter，helaughsathimselfforhisconceitandwantofmodesty。Thereisawonderfullyinterestingletterwhichhewrotetomymotherbequeathingtoher，incaseofhisdeath，thecareofpublishingthemanuscriptofhisfirstessayonevolution。Thisletterseemstomefulloftheintensedesirethathistheoryshouldsucceedasacontributiontoknowledge，andapartfromanydesireforpersonalfame。Hecertainlyhadthehealthydesireforsuccesswhichamanofstrongfeelingsoughttohave。Butatthetimeofthepublicationofthe’Origin’itisevidentthathewasoverwhelminglysatisfiedwiththeadherenceofsuchmenasLyell，Hooker，Huxley，andAsaGray，anddidnotdreamofordesireanysuchwideandgeneralfameasheattainedto。
Connectedwithhiscontemptfortheundueloveoffame，wasanequallystrongdislikeofallquestionsofpriority。TheletterstoLyell，atthetimeofthe’Origin，’showtheangerhefeltwithhimselffornotbeingabletorepressafeelingofdisappointmentatwhathethoughtwasMr。
Wallace’sforestallingofallhisyearsofwork。Hissenseofliteraryhonourcomesoutstronglyintheseletters;andhisfeelingaboutpriorityisagainshownintheadmirationexpressedinhis’Recollections’ofMr。
Wallace’sself—annihilation。
Hisfeelingaboutreclamations，includinganswerstoattacksandallkindsofdiscussions，wasstrong。ItissimplyexpressedinalettertoFalconer（1863？），\"IfIeverfeltangrytowardsyou，forwhomIhaveasincerefriendship，IshouldbegintosuspectthatIwasalittlemad。Iwasverysorryaboutyourreclamation，asIthinkitisineverycaseamistakeandshouldbelefttoothers。WhetherIshouldsoactmyselfunderprovocationisadifferentquestion。\"Itwasafeelingpartlydictatedbyinstinctivedelicacy，andpartlybyastrongsenseofthewasteoftime，energy，andtemperthuscaused。Hesaidthatheowedhisdeterminationnottogetintodiscussions（Hedepartedfromhisruleinhis\"NoteontheHabitsofthePampasWoodpecker，Colaptescampestris，\"’Proc。Zool。Soc。，’1870，page705:alsoinaletterpublishedinthe’Athenaeum’（1863，page554），inwhichcaseheafterwardsregrettedthathehadnotremainedsilent。Hisrepliestocriticisms，inthelatereditionsofthe’Origin，’canhardlybeclassedasinfractionsofhisrule。）totheadviceofLyell，——advicewhichhetransmittedtothoseamonghisfriendswhoweregiventopaperwarfare。
Ifthecharacterofmyfather’sworkinglifeistobeunderstood，theconditionsofill—health，underwhichheworked，mustbeconstantlyborneinmind。Heborehisillnesswithsuchuncomplainingpatience，thatevenhischildrencanhardly，Ibelieve，realisetheextentofhishabitualsuffering。Intheircasethedifficultyisheightenedbythefactthat，fromthedaysoftheirearliestrecollections，theysawhiminconstantill—health，——andsawhim，inspiteofit，fullofpleasureinwhatpleasedthem。Thus，inlaterlife，theirperceptionofwhatheenduredhadtobedisentangledfromtheimpressionproducedinchildhoodbyconstantgenialkindnessunderconditionsofunrecogniseddifficulty。Nooneindeed，exceptmymother，knowsthefullamountofsufferingheendured，orthefullamountofhiswonderfulpatience。Forallthelatteryearsofhislifesheneverlefthimforanight;andherdaysweresoplannedthatallhisrestinghoursmightbesharedwithher。Sheshieldedhimfromeveryavoidableannoyance，andomittednothingthatmightsavehimtrouble，orpreventhimbecomingovertired，orthatmightalleviatethemanydiscomfortsofhisill—health。Ihesitatetospeakthusfreelyofathingsosacredasthelife—longdevotionwhichpromptedallthisconstantandtendercare。Butitis，Irepeat，aprincipalfeatureofhislife，thatfornearlyfortyyearsheneverknewonedayofthehealthofordinarymen，andthatthushislifewasonelongstruggleagainstthewearinessandstrainofsickness。Andthiscannotbetoldwithoutspeakingoftheoneconditionwhichenabledhimtobearthestrainandfightoutthestruggletotheend。
LETTERS。
TheearliestletterstowhichIhaveaccessarethosewrittenbymyfatherwhenanundergraduateatCambridge。
Thehistoryofhislife，astoldinhiscorrespondence，mustthereforebeginwiththisperiod。
CHAPTER1。IV。
CAMBRIDGELIFE。
[Myfather’sCambridgelifecomprisesthetimebetweentheLentTerm，1828，whenhecameupasaFreshman，andtheendoftheMayTerm，1831，whenhetookhisdegreeandlefttheUniversity。
ItappearsfromtheCollegebooks，thatmyfather\"admissusestpensionariusminorsubMagistroShaw\"onOctober15，1827。HedidnotcomeintoresidencetilltheLentTerm，1828，sothat，althoughhepassedhisexaminationindueseason，hewasunabletotakehisdegreeattheusualtime，——thebeginningoftheLentTerm，1831。InsuchacaseamanusuallytookhisdegreebeforeAsh—Wednesday，whenhewascalled\"BaccalaureusadDiemCinerum，\"andrankedwiththeB。A。’softheyear。Myfather’sname，however，occursinthelistofBachelors\"adBaptistam，\"orthoseadmittedbetweenAsh—WednesdayandSt。JohnBaptist’sDay（June24th）;（\"OnTuesdaylastCharlesDarwin，ofChrist’sCollege，wasadmittedB。A。\"——\"CambridgeChronicle\"，Friday，April29，1831。）hethereforetookrankamongtheBachelorsof1832。
He\"kept\"foratermortwoinlodgings，overBaconthetobacconist’s;not，however，overtheshopintheMarketPlace，nowsowellknowntoCambridgemen，butinSidneyStreet。FortherestofhistimehehadpleasantroomsonthesouthsideofthefirstcourtofChrist’s。（Theroomsareonthefirstfloor，onthewestsideofthemiddlestaircase。Amedallion（givenbymybrother）hasrecentlybeenletintothewallofthesitting—room。）