ch. il] LYELL. 35 



During the early part of our life in London, I was 

 strong enough to go into general society, and saw a good 

 deal of several scientific men and other more or less distin- 

 guished men. I will give my impressions with respect to 

 some of them, though I have little to say worth saying. 



I saw more of Lyell than of any other man, both before 

 and after my marriage. His mind was characterised, as it 

 appeared to me, by clearness, caution, sound judgment, and 

 a good deal of originality. When I made any remark to 

 him on Geology, he never rested until he saw the whole case 

 clearly, and often made me see it more clearly than I had 

 done before. He would advance all possible objections to 

 my suggestion, and even after these were exhausted would 

 long remain dubious. A second characteristic was his hearty 

 sympathy with the work of other scientific men. * 



On my return from the voyage of the Beagle, I explained 

 to him my views on coral-reefs, which differed from his, 

 and I was greatly surprised and encouraged by the vivid in- 

 terest which he showed. His delight in science was ardent, 

 and he felt the keenest interest in the future progress of 

 mankind. He was very kind-hearted, and thoroughly lib- 

 eral in his religious beliefs, or rather disbeliefs ; but he was 

 a strong theist. His candour was highly remarkable. He 

 exhibited this by becoming a convert to the Descent theory, 

 though he had gained much fame by opposing Lamarck's 

 views, and this after he had grown old. He reminded me 

 that I had many years before said to him, when discussing 

 the opposition of the old school of geologists to his new 

 views, " What a good thing it would be if every scientific 

 man was to die when sixty years old, as afterwards he would 

 be sure to oppose all new doctrines." But he hoped that 

 now he might be allowed to live. 



The science of Geology is enormously indebted to Lyell 

 more so, as I believe, than to any other man who ever 

 lived. When [I was] starting on the voyage of the Beagle, 

 the sagacious Henslow, who, like all other geologists, believed 

 at that time in successive cataclysms, advised me to get and 

 study the first volume of the Princijrtes, which had then 

 just been published, but on no account to accept the views 

 therein advocated. How differently would any one now 



* The slight repetition here observable is accounted for by the notes on 

 Lyell, &c, having been added in April, 1881, a few years after* the rest of the 

 Recollections were written. F. D. 



